Rigathi Gachagua reveals SHA runs from Dubai in an explosive speech, and the former deputy president left no one guessing about his feelings on Kenya’s new health scheme. Rigathi Gachagua stood in front of a small crowd wearing his signature camouflage shirt and bright cap and laid out what he called hard facts about the Social Health Authority.
He said the whole system that replaced the old NHIF now operates mostly from the United Arab Emirates with no proper IT team sitting here in Kenya. The claims landed hard because many families still struggle to get basic hospital care while millions flow out every month.
Gachagua started by answering Aden Duale directly. Duale had challenged him earlier to bring proof, so Gachagua used the moment to push back. He told the group that Duale should save his tears because more details were coming. Then he walked through the numbers step by step.
Before SHA launched, the old NHIF had asked for just 800 million shillings to upgrade its existing setup and keep it working for Kenyans. Instead, the government scrapped NHIF and brought in the new authority with a price tag of 104 billion shillings for the entire system. Gachagua said that amount shocked him and many others because it felt far too high for what was needed.
He named the companies involved in the deal. A group called APERO Limited took the biggest share at nearly 60 per cent, and Gachagua linked it straight to the Adani family. Safaricom held about 22 per cent, and another firm called Convergence Network Solutions held the rest, whose director is Abdulahi Abdi Sheikh, who is Aden Duale’s proxy.
He explained that the actual software came from a company called Savana Informatics for around one billion shillings. The rest of the money he said simply disappeared into the pockets of a few people at the top. To him, the math did not add up, and it pointed to one clear reason for the switch from NHIF to SHA.
The part that hit hardest for many listeners came when Gachagua described where the system actually lives. He said the main server sits in the United Arab Emirates and that SHA has no real IT department inside Kenya.
Experts who used to work for NHIF got moved to Dubai so they could run everything from there. Every second of the month, he claimed payments kept flowing out. Specifically, he pointed to Convergence Network Solutions receiving 600 million shillings on the second day of each month. He added that Adani makes sure those payments happen on time without fail because the money comes straight from Kenyan contributors.
Gachagua’s voice rose when he talked about the human side. Hospitals across the country have looked after patients and sent bills that sit unpaid for billions of shillings. Yet the company running the system gets its cheque right on schedule.
He called it a shame and said the scheme was never built to help ordinary people. It was designed from the start to move funds out of Kenya and into private hands. He even mentioned that the payments go through the Digital Health Agency, whose chairman Silas Matua has close business ties to President William Ruto. That extra layer he argued helps hide where the money really ends up.
Kenyans who watched it shared their own stories of denied claims, long hospital waits and empty pockets after paying SHA contributions. Some felt angry that a programme meant to bring better health care now leaves so many without help.
Others wondered why the government chose such an expensive route when a cheaper upgrade was already on the table. A few defended the scheme and said Gachagua was only settling old scores after his time in office ended. Still the details about Dubai operations and monthly payments gave people plenty to talk about in group chats and on the streets.
This is not the first time questions have come up about SHA since it started. Many remember the bumpy rollout with long queues and confusion over how to register. Gachagua’s speech adds fuel by focusing on the money trail and the location of the technology.
He painted a picture of a system that takes from hard-working Kenyans but gives back very little in return. His heart, he said, breaks for every person who cannot afford proper treatment because a handful of individuals put personal gain first. That line struck a chord because health remains one of the biggest worries for families everywhere, from rural clinics to city estates.
He urged people to keep watching and demand answers because the scheme affects everyone who pays into it. For now the claims sit with the public and the authorities, who must decide whether to respond to or ignore them.
The timing feels important too. Kenya still grapples with high medical costs, and many citizens skip treatment because they cannot cover the fees. If even part of what Gachagua described holds true, it means the health authority that promised universal coverage may have left gaps wide enough for money to slip through.
His words carry extra weight coming from someone who once sat at the centre of government and now speaks from outside it. Whether the details lead to investigations or simply more debate, the speech has already forced many to look twice at their SHA contributions and the care they receive when they need it most.
In the end Gachagua’s message was direct. He believes SHA was built as a money-making tool rather than a health solution, and he backs it up with names, dates, and figures. Kenyans who listened heard both the numbers and the frustration behind them.
