The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) has demanded a thorough inquiry into the Social Health Authority (SHA) recruitment process after one of them, Andrew Rotich, was dropped from a shortlist for rehiring.
Speaking on Wednesday, October 1, the institute claimed that if left unchecked, the incident would set a precedent for professionals to opt not to whistleblow, as Rotich had opened a lid to a massive fraud at the authority.
"While recruitment processes are the prerogative of appointing authorities, the circumstances surrounding the non-inclusion of CPA Rotich and two other deputy directors in the latest shortlist raise issues of public interest," stated.
"ICPAK's concern is that if left unaddressed, such developments could inadvertently discourage professionals from speaking out in accountability matters."
This comes just days after news broke that Andrew Rotich, who served as the Deputy Director of Forensic Audit and Risk Assurance at SHA, had lost his job after exposing a multibillion-shilling fraud.
As such, ICPAK called on the government to provide more protection for whistleblowers, specifically asking for protection for Rotich's family.
In a report by the Daily Nation newspaper on September 26, it was alleged that Rotich's whistleblowing role may have influenced his removal.
Rotich's exposé is said to have led to the closure of 1,300 rogue hospitals implicated in fraudulent billing.
However, in a scathing counter to the paper's allegations, the Head of Presidential Special Projects and Creative Economy, Dennis Itumbi, claimed that the details of Rotich's name being dropped from a shortlist were highly exaggerated.
''Andrew Rotich never applied for Deputy Director like the lying newsroom at Nation alleges. He applied for Assistant Director; he is actually already shortlisted, waiting for interviews. The Nation styles itself as the Home of Truth, but is full of lies as usual, a factory of lies! Anyway, it is the Nation Newspaper, where truth happens once in a while, but lies dominate,'' Itumbi said.
In April 2025, the ousted auditor is said to have been appointed to the Deputy Director role, but his name was reportedly dropped in a fresh shortlist for the same job, according to Daily Nation's report.
Alongside Rotich were two other deputy directors, Halima Gurai Saney (provider of management) and Reuben Mutwiri Mutuura (county coordination), who have also not been selected for interviews following a court-mandated rerun of the hiring process that took place in April.
