SHA shame: Kalenjins and Somalis take up almost half county jobs

When SHA CEO Dr Mercy Mwangangi officially assumed office after her appointment in April 2025. [Edward Kiplimo,Standard]

Shocking revelations have emerged over the recruitment of senior county bosses at the Social Health Authority (SHA), with nearly half of the positions reportedly taken by individuals from just two communities.

The revelations have sparked public uproar and raised constitutional questions over inclusivity in government hiring.

The recruitment of top county staff, conducted at the SHA headquarters in Nairobi, has drawn criticism from Kenyans, leaders and governance experts, who say the process failed to reflect regional and ethnic diversity.

A physical count by The Saturday Standard shows that out of the 47 officials deployed to counties as SHA county operations managers, 22 are drawn from the Kalenjin and Somali communities, leaving the remaining positions shared among other groups.

The hiring has triggered heated debate online, with Kenyans questioning whether the recruitment adhered to constitutional principles on equity and inclusiveness.

“Why is it half of the page is tribe X?” Joshua Ambani questioned the list.

Andie said: “Half ‘tribe X’, the next quarter ‘tribe Y’, then we scrambled for the last quarter.”

“What happened to regional balance? That was overlooked,” said Chris Chirs M Evans.

Recruitment, according to insiders,  was internally conducted by SHA directors. In a memo, SHA Chief Executive Officer Mercy Mwangangi, noted approval of the deployment of the officers.

In the letter, Dr Mwangangi informed the Director of Corporate Services that the appointments were in line with the SHA strategic plan and pursuant to the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023.

Recruitment of county officials is aimed at decentralising operations, strengthening county-level presence, and enhancing access, efficiency and oversight of social health insurance services nationwide.

“It (recruitment) is aimed at strengthening service delivery at the grassroots level, improving coordination, and ensuring effective implementation of SHA programmes and functions at the county level,” reads a section of the internal letter written by the CEO.

Mwangangi directed the Director of Corporate Services to facilitate the immediate reporting and structured integration of the deployed officers into their respective duties.

Additionally, the director is expected to ensure the provision of adequate office space, essential equipment, and requisite administrative and logistical support to enable effective performance of duties, in line with approved establishment and operational standards.

Recruitment of the county bosses was conducted a few months after the closure of county offices, with managers who were serving under the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) recalled to Nairobi.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has been at the forefront of castigating tribalism in all its forms. However, critics say this appears to have been lip service.

In August last year, while speaking in Balambala, Garissa County, Duale declared that there is no superior community in Kenya, stressing that the Constitution guarantees equality for all.

“There is no superior community, region, or religion here in Kenya. The Constitution provides. President William Ruto is becoming a victim of these political shenanigans because he wants to unite the people of Kenya,” said Duale.

In September 2024, speaking in Bula Medina, Garissa Township, during the launch of the new Markaz Al-Rashidat Islamic education building, Duale criticised leaders he accused of perpetuating tribal politics.

“If you are a Cabinet Secretary like me, a Principal Secretary, or a CEO, and you’ve taken an oath on behalf of the people of Kenya regardless of tribe or religion, you must uphold it,” said Duale.

National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Chief Executive Officer Daniel Mutegi said the commission will review the recruitment process followed at the authority and compile a report to be submitted to the National Assembly and shared with the Head of Public Service, with collective action to be taken by the relevant agencies.

“NCIC will look into the issues raised and seek to understand from SHA management what is happening with regard to equal employment opportunities,” Dr Mutegi told The Standard in an interview.

Citing the NCIC Act, Mutegi emphasised that no single community should account for more than 33 per cent, or one-third, of employment opportunities in any public institution.

He further noted that recent investigations into public sector recruitment, conducted before the establishment of SHA, revealed that at least 70 per cent of jobs in ministries, parastatals and other government entities are dominated by just five ethnic communities.

The ethnic groups include the Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin, Luhya, Meru and Kamba.

Unlike the defunct NHIF, which had 1,732 employees, SHA has an establishment of only 815 staff.

The lean establishment has caused anxiety, according to sources within the authority.

NHIF was repealed and replaced by SHA on November 24, 2024, with all NHIF employees deployed to SHA for a smooth transition.

Initially, according to employment structures set up at SHA, staff were to undergo suitability assessments.

The second option was early retirement, while the third was absorption into the wider public service.

The matter later appeared before the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which ordered fresh advertisement of positions, against the internal recruitment process.

Most positions at the authority have since been filled.

SHA is the financier for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), which is a top agenda of the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The authority is a State corporation established under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, mandated to provide financial risk protection for Kenyan residents by facilitating equitable access to quality healthcare.

As wrangling over recruitment continues, a section of former NHIF employees are still awaiting deployment after being referred to the Public Service Commission (PSC).

“Employment is not a real issue because they have employed those they want,” said an employee sent to the PSC.

However, efforts by The Saturday Standard to get a response from Mwangangi did not bear fruit.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei also did not respond.

Constitutional lawyer Ndong Evance said the recruitment at the authority raises serious constitutional questions, particularly on equity, inclusiveness, transparency and protection of marginalised groups.

According to Evance, the Ministry of Health ought to have demonstrated to the public that efforts were made to ensure inclusivity, even where only one appointment was made per county.

“The proper constitutional test is to assess the list holistically. Does it reflect the inclusiveness and diversity contemplated under the Constitution? If one community dominates a third, half or two-thirds of the appointments, then the principle of diversity is clearly violated,” said the lawyer.

Evance cited a past High Court decision in Busia that nullified Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) assistant recruitment after two communities accounted for over 54 per cent of appointments.

“In the current case, the key question is whether two or three communities have taken more than 50 per cent of the slots, leaving the rest to share the remainder. If that is the case, the appointments automatically violate constitutional values of inclusivity and diversity,” he said.

While declining to pre-empt judicial determination, Evance observed: “On the face of it, if this list were challenged in a court of law, it would hardly survive constitutional scrutiny.”

Using the 47 SHA county coordinator positions as an example, Evance argued that inclusivity was both practical and achievable.

“If appointments were spread across 47 counties, it is possible to reflect broad inclusivity and regional balance. It cannot be legally argued that appointing coordinators solely from dominant communities satisfies constitutional requirements,” he said.

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has also raised concerns over the recruitment.

KHRC Head of Communications Ernest Cornel said every Kenyan is entitled to a fair and competitive opportunity to serve in government, regardless of ethnicity.

In an interview with the Saturday Standard, Cornel emphasised that merit-based recruitment should not be weaponised to excuse ethnic exclusion.

“If tribe X, Y or Z gets a position purely on merit, that is acceptable, but the burden of ensuring fairness does not lie with the individual applicant. It rests squarely on the recruiter,” he said.