The Court of Appeal on Friday issued stay orders allowing the Ministry of Health to proceed with the rollout of the Social Health Authority (SHA) which will commence on October 1, 2024.
The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Ministry of Health, affirming that the appeal lodged by the government was well merited.
"In these complex circumstances, we are inclined to grant a stay as the High Court decision is reviewed by this Court, pending an authoritative ruling on the validity of the three statutes,' the court observed.
"We base this decision on the fact that these statutes have been in effect for nine months, and reverting to the old framework only to potentially return to the current one if the appeal succeeds would place this critical sector in a state of uncertainty.”
In July, the High Court declared the Social Health Insurance Act unconstitutional citing a lack of sufficient public participation in the fund's establishment.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Alfred Mabeya, Robert Limo, and Fridah Megabi ruled that the Act also contained disparities that rendered it invalid.
The judges in their ruling gave Parliament 120 days to make amends to the controversial Act.
Parliamentarians were directed to undertake adequate public participation per the constitution and amend all the other unconstitutional sections.
The latest ruling comes just a day after the High Court temporarily halted the implementation of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) on school-going children.
In a case filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the High Court ruled that the status quo before the directive by the Ministry of Education be maintained until the case was determined.
LSK had gone to court claiming that the decision by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health to impose SHIF on school children was unlawful since the health scheme had been declared unconstitutional.
"We note that the SHIF was declared unconstitutional by the High Court in Petition E473 of 2023, and the decision has not been varied", read part of the petition by LSK.
