Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has hit back at Kakamega Catholic Bishop Joseph Obanyi’s claims that St. Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias has only received Sh9 million from the Social Health Authority (SHA) in the past 10 months.
Mudavadi on August 30, released financial reports indicating the Catholic Church–run facility has received a total of Ksh98,985,433.85 from various government health funds since November 2024.
The breakdown shows disbursements from the Primary Healthcare Fund (PHC), the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Public Officers Medical Fund Scheme (POMFS).
According to the documents, St. Mary’s Mumias received Ksh5.7 million under PHC in November 2024, Ksh92.9 million under SHIF between December 2024 and August 2025, and Ksh201,593 from POMFS in May 2025.
Bishop Obanyi to Mudavadi
The report, which Mudavadi said was sourced from SHA records, contradicts Bishop Obanyi’s assertions that the facility only received Ksh9 million and is drowning in debt due to government delays.
The Bishop has accused the Prime Cabinet Secretary of “cheap politics” and politicizing the plight of patients and workers after the hospital shut down earlier this year following 117 years of service.
Also Read: Ruto Orders Hospitals Shut Down Over SHA Fraud to Refund Money
“If anybody must be believed, at least believe the Church. We have no other place where the money goes except to serve patients,” Bishop Obanyi stated.
Obanyi maintains the facility is owed Sh180 million in unpaid claims, including Sh143 million under SHA, leaving more than 200 staff jobless and hundreds of patients stranded.
“It’s a mission hospital that serves the poor. We cannot make politics out of the suffering of ordinary people,” the bishop said.
Mudavadi Defending SHA
Mudavadi, however, argued that the financial trail shows clear disbursements, dismissing the bishop’s figures as inaccurate.
The standoff has intensified pressure on the Ministry of Health and the SHA, already under scrutiny over delayed payments and allegations of corruption in the new health financing model.
Also Read: Retiring Gardener Offered Mercedes and BMW by German Embassy Opts for Chicken
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has admitted challenges in SHA’s rollout, blaming entrenched cartels but pledging reforms.
“When you shift to a new house and start cleaning, there will be dust. What you are seeing is that dust, but in the end, the place will be clean,” Duale said, pledging reforms and accountability.
Speaking in Malava constituency during a burial ceremony, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi commented on the case of St. Mary’s Hospital in Mumias, which he said claimed Ksh117 million under the SHA program and had already received Ksh82 million.
He dismissed allegations that the Ministry of Health was responsible for the facility’s financial troubles, saying records showed payments had been disbursed.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
