NAIROBI,Kenya Dec 11 – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has questioned the safety of Kenyans’ health records in the wake of the reported Sh208 billion Kenya–US health partnership.
In an interview with KTN on Wednesday night , Gachagua said the agreement signed during President William Ruto’s recent state visit to Washington, D.C. raises serious concerns about national sovereignty, data protection, and how medical information might be used.
“We must safeguard the privacy of Kenyans’ health data. Confidential medical records cannot be released for foreign research without solid protections,” he said.
Gachagua further laid out what he described as his plan for revamping the healthcare sector should he seek and win the presidency.
His proposals include overhauling the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), restoring the Linda Mama maternal care programme, working more closely with faith-based health facilities, ensuring fair pay for doctors, and improving universal health coverage.
“If Kenyans give me the opportunity to lead, I will reform NHIF to meet today’s needs, bring back Linda Mama, collaborate with faith-based organisations, ensure doctors are well compensated, and equip our hospitals properly,” he said.
Gachagua also voiced support for a constitutional petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah challenging the deal.
“I wish him success. These issues must be thoroughly scrutinised,” he said.
The government has maintained that the partnership is aimed at strengthening Kenya’s health systems, upgrading disease surveillance, improving digital health tools, and boosting medical research capacity.
Omtatah’s petition
Omtatah wants the High Court to stop the implementation of the Health Cooperation Framework signed between the United States and Kenya.
Omtatah is urging the Court to find that the deal violates the Constitution, arguing that it was not subjected to public participation and threatens Kenya’s sovereignty.
He wants the Court to immediately suspend the implementation, operationalisation, and execution of the Framework, which was signed on December 4, 2025.
The Busia Senator also wants the Constitution and Human Rights Division of the High Court to declare the US$1.6 billion deal invalid because it has not been ratified by Parliament as required under the Treaty Making and Ratification Act.
He further avers that President William Ruto has put Kenya’s sovereignty and the private data of Kenyan citizens at risk, noting that the deal was signed in the President’s presence during an official engagement with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.
“Unless conservatory orders are issued, the government will proceed with measures that violate the Constitution and several national laws on public finance, treaty-making, health regulation, and data protection,” Omtatah says in documents filed in court.
The petition seeks orders stopping the government from spending public funds, entering into contracts, or rolling out policies linked to the agreement.
Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, who signed the agreement in Washington, has been listed as the first respondent. Others include Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale, National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, and Attorney-General Dorcas Oduor.
Omtatah has also named the Katiba Institute as an interested party.
The Senator cited clauses requiring Kenya to treat approvals by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as sufficient grounds for the use of medical products in Kenya, saying this undermines the mandate of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
Omtatah further says the deal will weaken Kenya’s regulatory agencies due to provisions granting US authorities audit access to health facilities, supply chains, and financial accounts.
The petition comes hours after President William Ruto assured Kenyans that the Kenya–United States Health Cooperation Framework will not be used to exploit the country or compromise the interests of its citizens.
The President said the agreement is anchored in firm legal principles and guided by national security and public interest considerations, adding that it does not undermine the rights of Kenyans, including those related to health data.
He said the Office of the Attorney-General thoroughly examined the agreement and confirmed that Kenyan data protection laws take precedence.
“Nobody and no government will take advantage of the people of Kenya or the Government of Kenya as long as I am President,” Ruto said.
President Ruto also warned against what he termed deliberate misinformation by some agencies that previously benefited from acting as intermediaries in US-funded health programmes.
He added that it was the United States Government that decided to discontinue funding through third-party organisations under what he described as the “NGO industrial complex.”
“If they have a problem with the current structure, they should speak to the Government of the United States, because it is the one that decided, for efficiency, that these resources should go directly to the government,” he said.
