{"id":797458,"date":"2026-03-25T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/?p=797458"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T05:00:54","slug":"high-court-shif-rollout-rebukes-govt-ihits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.capitalfm.co.ke\/news\/2026\/03\/high-court-shif-rollout-rebukes-govt-ihits\/","title":{"rendered":"Court rebukes govt over hurried SHIF rollout, demands quarterly progress reports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 25 \u2014 The High Court has rebuked the government over the hurried rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), finding it violated constitutional rights, even as it upheld the multi-billion-shilling procurement of the Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System (IHITS).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a judgment delivered Tuesday, Justice Bahati Mwamunye ruled that the nationwide rollout of SHIF on October 1, 2024 was premature, unreasonable and resulted in denial of critical medical services to patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cImplementing the system on a fixed date, before adequate registration and digital functionality were in place, was unreasonable,\u201d the judge held, pointing to documented cases where patients were denied essential care, including dialysis and cancer treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that socio-economic rights must be real and enforceable, not theoretical. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSocio-economic rights are not abstract or aspirational \u2018paper rights\u2019\u2014they demand tangible, real-world protection,\u201d he stated, concluding that the rollout violated the right to health and human dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the rebuke, the Court declined to nullify the SHIF system, warning that doing so would destabilize the health sector, particularly given that by early 2025 more than 18.7 million Kenyans had already been onboarded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Court issued a structural interdict compelling the government to implement corrective measures under judicial supervision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quarterly progress reports <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Justice Mwamunye directed the Ministry of Health to ensure no patient is denied emergency or life-saving treatment, and ordered the introduction of fair means-testing mechanisms for informal sector workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also mandated stronger transparency, accountability and a clear, accessible complaints mechanism, with the government required to file a compliance plan within 90 days and submit quarterly progress reports for a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Court upholds Safaricom-led health-tech contract terming procurement gaps insufficient<\/a><\/blockquote>