A whistleblower exposé has revealed a medical fraud scheme involving phantom hospitals siphoning millions of shillings from Kenya’s health system, according to the Rural & Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA).
RUPHA disclosed that a supposed facility called Trenya Hospital Limited never physically existed; it was essentially “a hospital in a phone.”
Patients were reportedly admitted and discharged remotely, yet the facility received over 10 million Kenyan shillings in payments before being flagged and shut down by Kisii County’s Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) inspectors.
Investigations indicate that the same individuals behind Trenya have allegedly established a new fraudulent facility operating under similar schemes.
The operation is linked to Nicholas, a former claims officer at a leading Kisii hospital, and Oyaro, an anaesthetist from Homa Bay.
Trenya Hospital Siphoning Millions
Rather than functioning from legitimate healthcare premises, the pair reportedly runs their operations from personal vehicles.
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RUPHA stated the case of BFN Hospital Nyamira, connected to the same group, which received suspicious payments totaling 10 million shillings before being closed by KMPDC.
The team then shifted their fraudulent activity to Kisii under the Trenya Hospital name, which claims to be a Level 3 facility with 139 beds despite having no theatre, equipment, or physical beds.
“How can a Level 3 facility claim to have 139 beds when KMPDC had already pulled down most beds in Level 3B facilities?”
The association urged government agencies and oversight bodies to act swiftly, highlighting gaps in fraud detection and mitigation. It particularly questioned the role of AI fraud detection systems promised by the government and the defunding of KMPDC.
RUPHA called on officials, including the Cabinet Secretary and Parliament members, to address these glaring issues, as genuine healthcare providers face payment delays while fraudsters continue to exploit the system.
Nyandiwa Hospital Exposed
This comes days after The Social Health Authority (SHA) denied allegations that it funneled Ksh20 million to a non-operational hospital in Nyandiwa, Homa Bay County.
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The controversy began after a list of SHA’s disbursements, shared widely on social media, showed a Ksh20 million allocation to Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital.
This prompted an outcry from critics who claimed the hospital had been abandoned for years. They circulated images of the overgrown facility to support their claims.
A follow-up by NTV appeared to reinforce the suspicions, revealing that the hospital was closed, with no sign of medical services being offered. Footage showed an empty compound, with only a cow grazing on the grounds.
In response, SHA CEO Mercy Mwangangi rejected the accusations, asserting that Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital has been operational since the 1970s. She stated that the claims circulating online were not only inaccurate but also potentially damaging.
“The Social Health Authority (SHA) has noted with concern a misleading article published on August 22, 2025, alleging that SHA disbursed Ksh20 million to a ghost facility,” the agency said in an official statement.
“These claims are false, misleading, and undermine the fundamental values of credible journalism — including fairness, accuracy, and balance.”
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