Just days after rumours broke online that a hospital allegedly owned by the Social Health Authority (SHA) chairperson, Abdi Mohammed, had received Ksh66 million in SHA payments, the hospital has clarified its ownership.
While confirming that the SHA Chair once owned shares in the hospital, the Pangani-based Ladnan Hospital clarified that he had sold his shares in 2023, long before SHA was implemented.
In a statement, Metro Group PLC relayed that it now fully owns the hospital and that it operates as a subsidiary of Metropolitan Hospital Holdings Limited.
"The Metro Group PLC (TMG) issues this statement to clarify recent reports regarding the ownership of Ladnan Hospital Limited (Pangani, Nairobi)," the statement read in part.
"Ladnan Hospital Limited in Pangani is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metropolitan Hospital Holdings Limited, which is wholly owned by TMG. TMG is a public unlisted company with over 500 shareholders."
It further clarified that although Mohamed had been one of the original founders of the hospital, he had not had anything to do with its ownership, management, or operations since selling his shares in July 2023.
A spot check on the SHA chairperson's Facebook page also showed a July 5, 2023, post in which he confirmed his exit from Ladnan Hospital after 13 years.
"I can announce that The Metro Group Plc (TMG) has completed the acquisition of my shares at MHHL, which owns Ladnan Hospital & Metropolitan Hospital," he relayed.
"This marks the end of an era for me at Ladnan Hospital, which I co-founded almost 13 years ago, and Metropolitan Hospital, which we merged close to six years ago. I have also exited from Ladnan Hospital Wajir, which has a separate shareholding."
The controversy started when SHA shared the list of claims paid, which showed that one such payment to the hospital was Ksh52 million, a payment larger than those to two level 6 hospitals, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH).
Several reports linked the hospital to the chairperson, exposing a seemingly massive fraud scandal. However, the hospital was far from the only one involved in the scandal, as several others were reported to have received inconsistent payments.
On Monday, August 26, Duale acknowledged rampant fraud in the medical insurance industry, confirming that the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) estimates that 30 per cent of medical payouts are linked to fraudulent claims.
He, however, reiterated that the Ministry had intensified the war on fraud since he assumed office on April 1. Several institutions have been closed over the same fraud since then.
