President William Ruto has come under fresh attack from Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who has challenged him to prove that Kenyans have stopped relying on public fundraising to clear hospital bills.
Sifuna, speaking in Kakamega County on Friday, August 21, accused the President of giving Kenyans a false picture of the state of the Social Health Authority (SHA), despite government claims that the new medical cover is delivering services to millions of people.
The Senator questioned Ruto’s recent attempt to demonstrate that SHA was functioning by making an unexpected phone call to Karen Hospital Chief Executive Officer Juliet Kigonyo.
According to Sifuna, the call did little to address the experiences of ordinary Kenyans who continue to struggle with medical expenses and access to healthcare services under the new system.
He challenged Ruto to personally use the Bible to back his claim that Kenyans no longer organise harambees to raise money for medical treatment and hospital bills.
“You used to be an evangelist. I want you to hold the Bible and declare that harambees meant to raise funds for hospital bills have stopped across the country.
Sifuna said recent events had shown that families were still being forced to raise money when faced with medical debts.
“Just the other day, we were contributing money to remove bodies of deceased persons which had been held at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital because of unpaid bills,” he remarked.
The Senator accused the President of failing to tell Kenyans the truth about the health insurance programme, warning that the public was already familiar with what he described as his political tactics.
“If lying is your plan, ours is to send you home because you are the biggest problem in this country. We will tell the people the truth and revert the country to its democratic path,” he declared.
Sifuna also spoke about the attack reported during the Linda Mwananchi tour in Homa Bay, saying the incident was small compared with the danger he faced during the 2023 Azimio la Umoja protests.
He recalled that his vehicle was shot at while he and other opposition supporters were taking part in demonstrations over the high cost of living.
The former ODM Secretary General used the experience to put the Homa Bay incident into perspective, saying he had faced more serious situations while standing by the late Raila Odinga.
Turning to the Linda Mwananchi campaign, Sifuna pledged that the government they seek to establish would deal with the poor state of the dusty road that drew public attention during their Homa Bay visit.
The Senator’s remarks came a day after Ruto defended SHA, insisting that the programme was fully operational and had already reached more than 30 million Kenyans.
The President said the new scheme had widened the range of medical services available to citizens and maintained that hospitals were receiving their reimbursements on time.