Senator Omtatah Files Court Petition to Halt Social Heealth Insuarance Fund(SHIF)

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has filed a petition to stop the official launch of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), scheduled for today, October 1. Alongside petitioners Eliud Matindi and Magare Gikenyi, Omtatah aims to challenge both the SHIF's legality and the government's contract with service providers linked to the fund’s implementation.

Taking to his X account (formerly Twitter), Omtatah explained that SHIF’s rollout lacks proper legal groundwork, making it unconstitutional. “The subsidiary legislation to operationalise the Social Health Insurance Act is not in place,” Omtatah stated.

At the heart of the legal challenge is the contract with a consortium of private companies responsible for developing an Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System for Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The petitioners are urging the court to suspend, and eventually annul, these contracts.