Archbishop Mahatia: Church will continue to offer health services despite SHA wrangles
Western
By
Mary Imenza
| Sep 02, 2025
Catholic Archbishop of Kisumu, Maurice Mahatia, has said that mission hospitals will not abrogate responsibilities despite the chaos surrounding the Social Health Authority (SHA).
He said the Church remains committed to serving Kenyans, particularly in the areas of education and healthcare, describing the closure of St Mary's Hospital as “regrettable”.
St Mary’s Mumias Hospital, a facility that had for close to a century served low-income patients, was shut down after it was unable to pay workers due delays in SHA payment.
“We shall remain indefatigable in our resolution to continue helping our communities, building our country in the area of education and health as much as we can.
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"What happened to St Mary’s Mumias Hospital the other day is regrettable, and we pray that it doesn’t happen to any other mission hospital,” Archbishop Mahatia said.
He noted that St Mary’s was not the only mission hospital affected, with several other church-run facilities facing similar financial struggles.
“What has happened is not only about Mumias Hospital. Many of our other mission hospitals are going through serious challenges,” he added.
He urged the government to find urgent solutions so that Kenyans do not suffer over what he termed “avoidable crises”.
His remarks come amid a heated exchange between Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Kakamega Catholic Bishop Joseph Obanyi over claims of government funding to the troubled St Mary’s facility.
Mudavadi, while speaking at a burial ceremony in Malava on August 30, insisted that the hospital had received Sh82 million from SHA out of a pending Sh117 million, suggesting mismanagement could be to blame for its woes.
“The hospital has been paid Sh82 million out of Sh117 million. If they want to argue, we are ready to produce evidence of how much they received in November and December last year… I have it even on my phone here. So, if there was mismanagement at that hospital, they should not drag the whole nation into it,” Mudavadi said.
But Bishop Obanyi, under whose authority the hospital operates, dismissed the figures as misleading. He clarified that the facility had only received Sh9 million since June, strictly designated for the renal unit, leaving the rest of the hospital crippled.
“Since June this year up to now, we may have received about Sh9 million, which is designated for the renal unit. The hospital itself has not received any money, as claimed from SHA, which would easily go to the patients,” Bishop Obanyi said.
He stressed that the hospital’s closure was the direct result of financial strain and unpaid staff, not mismanagement as implied, adding that focus should now shift to reviving the century-old institution that has long served Western Kenya communities.