Fresh uproar has erupted in Homa Bay after the Social Health Authority (SHA) paid Ksh20 million to a hospital residents insist has been abandoned for more than 10 years.
Locals in Nyandiwa say the facility has never offered them any medical services.
Instead, they describe it as a thicket, left to rot and swallowed by bushes until recently.
The day after the SHA payout, villagers watched in disbelief as workers hurriedly cleared thickets around the compound.
“That is a surprise and breaking news to me. It is very disturbing. How is it being funded, and for what purpose yet it is not a working hospital,” one resident told reporters.
SHA Responds to Nyandiwa Hospital SHA Scandal
But SHA has pushed back against the accusations. CEO Dr. Mercy Mwangangi insisted that Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital has been functional since the 1970s.
And that the nearly Ksh20 million payout covered verified claims for services such as inpatient and maternity care.
Beyond the disputed Sh20 Million payment, the hospital has also received Ksh751,504 under the Primary Health Care Fund and more than Ksh82 million through the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) since late 2024.
SHA has further maintained that the abandoned building shown in viral photos is a different county project, not Nyandiwa Level 4 Hospital.
And that the confusion was worsened because the hospital’s account still uses its old name: Nyandiwa Dispensary — a common practice when facilities are upgraded.
The scandal has now split opinion across Homa Bay. Residents insist the hospital has been abandoned for a decade, while SHA maintains it is active. The row has fueled wider anger over so-called “ghost hospitals” and raised fresh doubts about how Kenya’s public health funds are managed.
By Vivian K.