The High Court has temporarily suspended the operations of a task force appointed by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale to audit medical claims owed by the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
Justice Ruben Nyakundi on Tuesday, May 13, issued the conservatory order suspending the work of the NHIF Pending Medical Claims Verification Committee, pending the determination of a petition filed by activists against the task force.
The judge ordered the committee not to compile any reports, give recommendations, or take any other action outlined during its formation.
"Pending the hearing and determination of this petition, a conservatory order is hereby issued suspending the operations of the NHIF Pending Medical Claims Verification Committee," Justice Nyakundi said.
He added: "This order restrains the committee from compiling any report, issuing recommendations or taking further action based on the Gazette notice that established it."
Further, Justice Nyakundi ordered the 19-member Committee to file a response regarding the issues raised by the petitioners within seven days.
The ruling comes after several activists moved to court to challenge the formation of the committee on grounds that Duale overstepped his legal mandate to form task force.
According to the petitioners, while Duale lacked the legal authority to form the task force, he also infringed on the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu's constitutional role.
In the petition, the activists also raised concerns over the transparency in selecting the committee members, with the petitioners claiming the appointments lacked merit.
On March 28, Duale appointed the committee to verify the pending medical claims by the defunct NHIF and report their findings and recommendations within 90 days, before any payments can be made.
While presiding over the inauguration of the committee on April 6, Duale noted that the committee would address several issues, including concerns over delays and questionable disbursements made under the previous medical health insurance scheme.
The CS also tasked the panel with coming up with clear criteria for examining claims, identifying fraud submitted in the claims and preparing policy recommendations to prevent a recurrence of such in the future.
