Somali and Kalenjin Communities Dominate 50% of SHA Job Shortlist!
The mask has finally slipped at the Social Health Authority (SHA), and according to emerging reports, the trail of influence leads directly to the top of Afya House. It is alleged that key power brokers have turned the recruitment process for critical Claims Management Officer roles into an ethnic enclave. The data surfacing in the public domain is damning: it is claimed that the Somali and Kalenjin communities have captured over 50 per cent of the new positions, leaving the rest of the country’s diverse population to watch from the sidelines.
According to various reports, critics argue that this pattern is not a result of “merit” but a calculated move by influential figures to consolidate control over the agency that manages billions in healthcare funds. While the Kalenjin presence is being linked by observers to broader political narratives, the massive influx of Somali candidates is alleged by many to be a direct result of strategic “string-pulling” by high-ranking officials at the Ministry. For qualified health professionals nationwide, the shortlist has become a bitter pill to swallow—a clear sign, according to reports, that “regional balance” has been sacrificed for favoritism.
The legal implications of this alleged “Two-Tribe” monopoly are severe. The National Cohesion and Integration Act is clear: no single ethnic group should occupy more than one-third of positions in any public institution. By allegedly allowing these two groups to dominate half of the agency, reports suggest the ministry is presiding over a direct violation of the Constitution. As one frustrated applicant noted, “Is the Social Health Authority a national body, or has it been turned into a parochial project for two specific communities?”
With the SHA already struggling to regain public trust after the NHIF transition, this scandal—allegedly orchestrated by brokers at the top—threatens the very foundation of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). If the people processing health claims are hired through alleged patronage rather than professional diversity, the entire system loses its integrity. The Public Service Commission and the National Assembly must now demand answers regarding how a national recruitment drive ended up looking like a regional census.