Speaking in Kakamega during the burial of the late Malava Member of Parliament Moses Malulu Injendi at his rural home in Lukusi village, President William Ruto defended the government’s decision to replace the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) with the new Taifa Care system. He emphasized that the move was necessary to eliminate corruption that had crippled the defunct NHIF.
The Head of State dismissed allegations of fraud associated with the transition and instead accused individuals who previously benefited from NHIF of being behind the criticism. He claimed that those making noise on social media and in newspapers were brokers who had exploited NHIF for financial gain.
“The noise you hear from people on social media and in the newspapers is coming from those who were stealing from us during the NHIF days. These are brokers. I saw some of them say that the government will use one hundred billion for the system,” Ruto stated.
The President elaborated that under NHIF, nearly 40% of the collected funds were lost to fraudulent claims, including ghost hospitals and fake medical procedures. He assured the public that the new Taifa Care system, developed in collaboration with a consortium of technology firms, would eliminate such fraud.
“We want to fix the fraud problems of the past. A lot of the money collected by NHIF was stolen by scammers and fraudsters who pretended to have hospitals. Fake claims and fraudulent claims used up almost 40% of the funds that NHIF was raising. This will not happen again as long as I am President,” he asserted.
President Ruto further challenged critics of the new system, urging them to accept the changes. “The people complaining are the ones who have been stealing from us, and they don’t want a working technology system because they want to continue stealing. I want to tell them that stealing is over. MOVE ON. No public funds will be misused, no matter how many times you fill the newspapers trying to force us to go back to the old NHIF system,” he warned.
During his speech, Ruto also took time to eulogize the late Malava MP, describing him as a dedicated leader who tirelessly championed the rights of his constituents, particularly in education and women’s empowerment.
“He was focused, hardworking, and tirelessly championed for women’s empowerment. Moses was simply a good man! Mheshimiwa’s remarkable work in Malava Constituency especially in education will forever guide, shape, and influence our future,” the President stated.
