Aden Duale: Ruto's untouchable

When President William Ruto appointed Aden Duale to his Cabinet in the Defence docket, he unwittingly opened his administration to a string of criticism arising from the latter’s controversial and scandalous remarks. 

The former Garissa Town MP has held three powerful portfolios, including Environment and the current Health ministry, leaving a string of controversies in his wake.

He is yet again in the eye of the storm and yesterday MPs gave him 48 hours to resign or face a censure motion. They also called for resignation of Social Health Authority (SHA) chairperson Abdi Mohamed over his links to the multi-billion shilling scandals rocking the health sector.

The lawmakers coalescing under the Kenya Moja Parliamentary, have set their sights on the duo accusing them of overseeing a multi-billion shilling fraud. Led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, they accuse Duale of having a deep-rooted conflict of interest, and raised concern over SHA’s rushed implementation, its lack of transparency and the questionable financial decisions.

Should the duo not heed their calls, the MPs vowed to introduce a censure motion in the House once it resumes from recess. “We now demand the resignation of CS Aden Duale and chairman of SHA for being complicit in issues raised and conflict of interest. We also want a Commission of inquiry into SHA within the next forty eight hours. If this is not done, we will call on all Kenyans to act. This level of impunity and theft cannot go unchallenged,” said Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi.

He was flanked by Sifuna, Funyula MP Wilberforce Oundo, Kitutu Masaba Clive Gisairo and Bomachoge Burabu MP Nolfason Barongo.

During a media briefing within the precincts of Parliament, the lawmakers claimed the Health CS is reportedly associated with the same company that developed the SHA system — a company in charge of revenue collection and payments. Further, they said, the chairman of SHA has links to Ladnan Hospital, which has already received Sh66 million under the controversial scheme.

Kibagendi claimed payments under SHA were skewed and discriminatory noting that some providers are consistently paid, while others — offering genuine health services — have never received a cent.

Worse still, he emphasized, ghost facilities are being paid regularly despite a myriad of questions on how they were accredited.

According to the lawmakers, Nyandiwa Dispensary, which has been closed for some time, continues to receive payments. Divine Sparkle Medical Center in Rangwe, Homa Bay County, received Sh2.8 million in June, yet it does not even exist. In North Eastern, the number of accredited facilities has skyrocketed from 153 to over 700.

“Hanano Nursing Home is also said to have received over Sh4 million, more than even Pumwani Hospital — but credible reports suggest this hospital doesn’t exist.”

They also said some of the recently registered hospitals as the biggest beneficiaries and cited Tumticha Medical Centre, registered just this year as having received Sh1.5 million, an amount the MPs said was more than the area’s sub-county hospital.

“Wante Nursing Home Ltd, registered on 12th February 2025, applied to the Ministry of Health the very next day and was approved the same day. It has no physical location, yet by April, it had received over Sh3.8 million. Sipili Maternity and Nursing Hospital, which was shut down three years ago after an exposé on NTV revealed sexual harassment by its owner, has received close to Sh5 million. Who is running this facility? Does it even have a licence?” they posed.

They also told of how SHA had become a conduit of theft through duplication where private nursing homes were registered using the same names as existing public facilities. They pointed out the case of Qarsadamu Medical Center Ltd and Qarsadamu Dispensary — “a blatant trick to facilitate looting.”

Also brought to the fore was the fact that before NHIF was shut down, it had accumulated a total arrears of Sh32 billion compared to Sh43 billion accumulated by SHA in the last 10 months.

“SHA is not a reform. It is a scam.  And we, as leaders, must not stand by and watch as billions are looted under the guise of universal health care,” added a statement by the MPs.

But Duale, has relentlessly absolved himself and the SHA chairperson from any conflict of interest and wrong doing. “SHA chairman Abdi Mohamed used to own Ladnan Hospital; there is no conflict of interest,” Duale explained on Monday.

“The facilities you found circulating on social media are facilities that majority were closed in May, and you can check with the regulator’s website, or with the DHA, they were closed,” added Duale.

He further revealed that regulatory action had been taken against healthcare facilities across multiple counties, including Mandera, Homa Bay, Kisii, Wajir, Nairobi, Bungoma and Kisumu.

Duale’s tenure at the Environment docket was also riddled by controversy. During his stint, he oversaw massive cutting of trees at Karura forest - a move met by nationwide outrage by environmentalists and the public which accused the government of being in on a land grabbing scheme.

But Duale explained that the cutting down of trees in Karura was part of forest restoration. In a statement, he explained that the process involved clear-felling and removing eucalyptus trees by licensed timber industry investors.

“For years, Karura has been dominated by 70 per cent plantation tree cover, mostly cypress and eucalyptus, planted for commercial purposes. To restore ecological balance, we are implementing a clear-felling strategy to gradually remove these species, minimizing disruptions to wildlife and public activities,” Duale stated.

However, to date, it has not been established  where the logs went and why the promised replanting of trees stalled. “We urge the public to bear with us during this process. Restoring Karura is a labour of love that requires time, patience and careful stewardship.”

It was also during his time there that a private developer put up a luxurious hotel facility on forest land in Ngong area, Kajiado County.  And where the current CS Deborah Barasa recently revealed that Konyon company Ltd was the entity behind the construction of the unique Glamping Eco-lodge and wellness retreat, questions still linger on why there was no competitive bidding before the putting up of the facility.

“One day you can wake up and Karura forest is trending. They are cutting trees and then they come and tell you they were harvesting mature trees. Now Mr speaker, out of the blues, they have gone into Ngong forest and somebody is building a hotel in the middle of the forest without telling anybody,” Senator Edwin Sifuna had complained.

And before that, Duale served as Defence CS where top military officials reportedly accused him of overstepping his mandate and acting more as a military general and not a civilian boss, with sources claiming the military’s top brass quietly prevailed on the President to remove him from the docket.

This came out during Duale’s vetting by the National Assembly’s vetting and appointments committee for the position of Environment CS. “The military has feared you. You have become more military than the military themselves. Is it true and why did the military fear you?” posed Saboti MP Caleb Amisi.

Duale however responded, “I don’t think that the rank and the file of the Defence ministry fear me, maybe my style and I’ll take the same style to forests.”

Further, during his tenure as the Majority leader, Duale was cited for undermining the legislature where critics averred that he treated Parliament as a rubber stamp for the Executive branch, rather than exercising its oversight mandate. In particular, his bulldozing of the controversial Security Laws (Amendment) Bill of 2014, which was passed during a chaotic session.

He served as Majority leader from 2013 to 2020 under the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led Jubilee government

Duale was also accused of using the Jubilee coalition’s parliamentary majority to stifle opposition and push through the government’s agenda. He frequently reminded opposition members of Jubilee’s strength in numbers.

At the same time, his tongue has on various occasions landed him in trouble. A case in point was when he had a public confrontation with former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, where he infamously stated, “Hii pesa sio ya mama yako” (“This money is not your mother’s”), referring to county funds.

Duale was ultimately removed from his position on June 22, 2020, during an internal party purge. The ouster was the result of a political fallout between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, whom Duale had remained loyal to.