Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has stopped the salaries of 215 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) staff with immediate effect.
In a statement, Duale said the decision follows a recently concluded joint headcount exercise undertaken by the State Department for Medical Services in collaboration with the Council of Governors (COG).
He said the verification of UHC staff is now substantially complete, and 215 staff out of the 7,629 staff verified did not present themselves.
Duale said the 215 have been identified as ghost workers or unqualified health professionals.
He stated that the employees have been removed from the payroll, and their salaries have been stopped.
Out of the 7,629 staff verified, 215 did not present themselves, having been identified as either non-existent (ghost workers) or not qualified health professionals and their salaries have been stopped and they have been removed from the payroll pending further investigations to prosecute, determine and recover the irregular payment.
He said the remaining 7,414 staff will be absorbed starting September 2025 and categorised into two groups.
The two groups consist of those currently in active service and those with pending disciplinary issues.
Staff in active service will be formally transitioned and absorbed with effect from September 2025.
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UHC Staff with Disciplinary Cases
However, UHC Staff members absent from duty or having disciplinary issues will not be absorbed.
Duale said such cases will be reviewed in consultation with the Public Service Commission (PSC), in line with PSC Regulations 2020 on Human Resource, which provides for separation, removal from the payroll, and other disciplinary measures.
The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Council of Governors, PSC, and other stakeholders, remains steadfast in its resolve to ensure fairness, accountability, and transparency in the absorption process while safeguarding the rights of eligible officers.
Also Read: Govt Gives Way Forward on UHC Staff Payroll
Duale Earlier Agreement with County Govts
In May 2025, Duale stated that the contracts of UHC staff would remain valid until May 2026, based on agreements made between individual staff members and County Governments.
The CS also mentioned that the staff would be transitioned to permanent and pensionable terms by the end of the financial year 2026/27 upon contract expiry.
According to the agreement, the UHC staff were officially to be transferred to County Governments by 1 July 2025.
The counties were expected to take over responsibility for managing the staff’s payrolls and budgets.
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