The Social Health Authority (SHA) has clarified that Andrew Kipkurui Rotich has not been fired as an employee of the authority, despite whistleblowing on a multibillion-shilling fraud scheme in the country's healthcare system.
In a statement on Wednesday, September 1, the authority's chairperson, Abdi Mohamed, stated that Kipkurui is still holding the position of Senior Officer at the authority under transitional arrangements, following the court's nullification of his previous appointment as Deputy Director earlier this year.
"Mr Rotich has not lost his job. Mr Rotich remains an employee of the public service deployed to SHA, currently holding the position of Senior Officer. His current temporary deployment and tenure are protected under transitional arrangements," Mohamed said.
After the court nullified Rotich's appointment on May 29, 2025, the authority conducted a second recruitment process for Director, Deputy Director, and Assistant Director positions; however, Mohamed noted that Rotich did not submit his application for the Deputy Director Position, but instead applied for the Assistant Director, Internal Audit position.
Furthermore, the authority, which noted that it can only shortlist candidates who have actually applied for a position, claimed that Rotich has not lodged any formal appeal to the authority's board to dispute his non-shortlisting for the Deputy Director position.
"This is the second recruitment process for the Director. Deputy Director and Assistant Director positions closed on 19th August 2025. SHA Recruitment Portal records attached confirm that Mr Rotich did not apply for the position of Deputy Director, Internal Audit, in this exercise," Mohamed stated.
"He submitted only one application for this tier, specifically for the position of Assistant Director, Internal Audit. Neither did he submit a physical application for any position," he added.
The clarification comes after the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) called for an independent inquiry into SHA's recruitment process after they alleged that Rotich was dropped from being rehired as the Deputy Director at the authority.
This comes days after some reports claimed that 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. The exposure had led to the closure of 1,300 rogue hospitals, which were found guilty of submitting fraudulent billing to the authority.
ICPAK stressed the need for the government to protect Rotich and his family, as well as other whistleblowers.
"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," ICPAK stated.
"ICPAK's concern is that if left unaddressed, such developments could inadvertently discourage professionals from speaking out in accountability matters," it added.
