The Social Health Authority (SHA) has dismissed claims that it wired Ksh20 million to a non-existent hospital in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay County.
Concerns were raised on social media after a list of SHA disbursements showed that Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital had received Ksh20 million. Critics claimed the hospital was long abandoned, sharing photos of the deserted facility overrun by thickets.
An NTV spot check appeared to confirm the reports, showing the hospital closed, with no medical activities underway, only a cow grazing on freshly cut grass.
SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi, however, refuted the claims, insisting the facility has existed since the 1970s and remains operational.
The Social Health Authority (SHA) has dismissed claims that it disbursed Ksh20 million to a non-existent hospital in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay County, terming the reports false and misleading.
“The Social Health Authority (SHA) has noted with concern a misleading article published on August 22, 2025, alleging that SHA disbursed Ksh20 million to a ghost facility. These claims are false, misleading, and undermine basic principles of responsible journalism, such as accuracy, fairness, and balance,” the statement read in part.
SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi clarified that Nyandiwa Hospital has been operational since the 1970s, first as a dispensary before being upgraded to a Level 4 hospital serving thousands of locals.
She explained that the Ksh20 million allocation represented legitimate and accumulated claims duly processed in line with SHA’s strict verification and payment protocols.
“To date, the facility has received Ksh751,504 under Primary Health Care (PHC) and Ksh82,080,706 under the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), all acknowledged by the facility. These are accumulated payments from October 2024,” Mwangangi stated.
The payments cover different service packages, including inpatient, outpatient, surgical, maternity, dialysis, mental wellness and rehabilitation, medical imaging, and haematology/oncology services.
SHA further clarified that the viral photos of an abandoned hospital represent an incomplete project built by a former County administration, which has never been contracted by SHA and holds no transacting rights.
Calling out the media house for misreporting, SHA stressed that all its disbursements undergo rigorous verification to safeguard public funds and strengthen health service delivery.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 20, SHA confirmed that Ksh3.4 billion has so far been disbursed to all contracted facilities countrywide.
