The Social Health Authority (SHA) board has named CPA Pariken Ole Sankei as the new Director of Internal Audit.
In an announcement released on Wednesday, October 29, the board chair, Abdi Mohamed, relayed that the appointment had followed a competitive recruitment process that started on July 29.
"The Social Health Authority (SHA) Board is pleased to announce the appointment of CPA Pariken Ole Sankei as the new Director of Internal Audit. This key appointment follows a competitive and transparent recruitment process that began on July 29, 2025," the statement read in part.
Sankare has been serving as the Acting Director of Internal Audit, a role he will now officially transition from.
He brings on board over 20 years of experience in the role, having served as Head of Internal Audit at the defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA).
He holds a Master's Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Public Secretary (CPS).
"His wealth of experience will be vital as he joins the senior leadership team in steering the Authority’s mandate of providing financial protection and strategic purchasing of healthcare services for all Kenyans," Mohamed said.
Sankare's appointment comes just over a month after reports that a SHA employee serving as the acting Deputy Director of Forensic Audit and Risk Assurance, Andrew Rotich, was excluded from the shortlist.
Reportedly, this was because of his role in lifting the lid on a multi-billion-shilling fraud at the authority, which led to the closure of 1,300 rogue hospitals implicated in fraudulent billing.
While demanding justice for Rotich, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) warned that if left unchecked, the incident would set a precedent for professionals to opt not to be whistleblowers.
However, 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 in a scathing response to the Daily Nation, which first published the story.
''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.
