Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale in his office on December 16, 2025 /ADEN DUALE/XHealth Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has issued a stern warning to doctors operating private practices during official working hours in public hospitals, signalling that the government will take strict measures to curb the practice.
Speaking in Tharaka Nithi County during the commissioning of a new ultra-modern Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an amenity wing at Chuka Level 5 Hospital, Duale said the trend has become rampant, with some doctors sending patients from public hospitals to their private clinics for personal gain.
“And I want to tell Kenyatta [doctors], they either work for Kenyatta or they go become private consultants. I want you MPs to help me; they have gone to court; we have so many court cases,” Duale stated, highlighting the scale of the problem in national referral facilities.
The CS emphasised that the government will introduce measures from January to ensure accountability.
“All Kenyans with a smartphone, install Afya Yangu. If you have it, it will show you everything from medical checks, cost and your balance. No one will steal from you. We want to ensure every claim is verified and every fraud loophole is sealed,” he said, underscoring the role of digital monitoring in eliminating malpractice.
Duale cited examples from Kenyatta National Hospital, where he said patients often face long waiting times despite the availability of highly skilled doctors and well-equipped theatres.
Some of these patients are then referred to private facilities operated by the same doctors, sometimes within hours of their initial visit.
"Kenyatta has 26 theatres, you go for surgery, you are told 'come back after two months'. If you agree the doctor follows you and says 'if you go to a certain private hospital in town, I will do it tomorrow," can you imagine?"
Backing the CS’s concerns, Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki criticised a new generation of doctors whom, he said, are overly ambitious, juggling multiple jobs to increase personal earnings.
“These Gen Z doctors we have here are very ambitious. They want to have three jobs. They want a job with the county government, they want a job for a clinic in town, and they want also another job in Nairobi. These doctors have made our hospitals a retention where they see patients here during the day, then they refer them to their clinics later in the evening,” Njuki said.
He added that while the majority of doctors uphold professional standards, even a few who exploit the system can have wide-ranging negative effects.
“Not all of them, out of maybe 36 doctors, about three or four of them, but you know, one apple, if it’s rotten, it affects the others. We can’t touch them sometimes because the union is there, but please, we need to be reasonable,” Njuki noted.
The governor criticised the practice of diverting patients from well-equipped county hospitals to private facilities for imaging or specialist interpretation, warning that the financial gains from such actions are unethical.
“There’s no way you can be working in Chuka Hospital, where we have the best machines, then you take people to your clinic, then later refer them here for imaging, then take the results back for interpretation. Some of that money you earn that way is not a blessing,” he said.
The newly commissioned ICU in Chuka has a five-bed capacity and two isolation units, the first of its kind in the region, while the new amenity ward will offer private-hospital-style services to patients seeking premium care.
Duale said these facilities aim not only to improve health service delivery but also to ensure that doctors dedicate their working hours to public service.
With both national and county leadership now placing doctors’ unions on notice, the government appears poised to enforce stricter oversight of medical professionals to safeguard public health resources and reduce opportunities for private profiteering during official hours.
