Hospital bosses, state officials face fraud charges

Kenya’s DPP, Nelson Ingonga, has approved charges against directors from various hospitals and government officials who are allegedly involved in a multibillion Social Health Authority (SHA) fraud across the country, according to the Kenyans. In a statement, the Office of the DPP confirmed that he had received and reviewed investigation files from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) concerning alleged fraudulent activities in SHA. The DPP has also approved charges against employees from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council over the alleged fraudulent registration and payment made to the facilities. Some of the charges approved against the individuals include operating unlicensed healthcare facilities, conspiracy to defraud, unauthorised access to computer systems, and abuse of office. On its part, the DCI assured that it will ramp up investigations into fraudulent activities in the country's healthcare system, to ensure that individuals facilitating these activities are weeded out and legal action is taken against them. The approval comes a month after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale vowed to publicly name all hospitals and firms involved in Ksh11bn ($85m) fraudulent claims rejected by the SHA’s fraud detection system.