As per the reports by Internet personality and blogger Sholla Ard on X, David Ndii and his wife Mwende Gatabaki have been at the center of controversy over their involvement in Kenya’s new healthcare system. Ndii, a key economic adviser to President William Ruto, has been linked to the Social Health Authority (SHA) through his wife, who holds a top position in Apeiro Ltd.
This company is deeply involved in the implementation of the SHA system, which has replaced the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF).
Kenyans are now forced to contribute a percentage of their salaries to SHIF, but concerns have emerged about where these funds are actually going.
Mwende Gatabaki, the person on the left in the widely circulated photo, is married to David Ndii, who appears on the right. She is the director of Apeiro, a company linked to India’s Adani Group.
Apeiro not only plays a role in Kenya’s healthcare digital system but also owns the SHIF SHA system. This connection has raised alarms, as over 10% of the deductions Kenyans are forced to pay into SHIF are reportedly being siphoned off to entities linked to them.
This has led to accusations that the entire SHIF project is a fraudulent scheme designed to benefit a few well-connected individuals at the expense of ordinary Kenyans.
The SHA project was meant to improve healthcare access by restructuring how funds are collected and distributed. However, instead of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, the system has come under fire for being opaque and benefiting politically connected individuals.
The fact that a company linked to David Ndii’s wife is at the heart of this system raises serious ethical questions. Many now believe that SHIF is not about improving healthcare but about enriching those who designed it.
The involvement of Apeiro, which has ties to international firms like Adani, has only fueled suspicions that this is part of a larger financial scheme. David Ndii himself has done little to dismiss these concerns.
His past statements, including the infamous remark that corruption will remain as it is, have made it clear that he has no interest in fixing Kenya’s broken systems.
Instead, he appears to be one of the key beneficiaries of the ongoing looting. His wife’s company, which now controls critical aspects of the SHA system, is allegedly taking a direct cut from the deductions Kenyans are being forced to pay.
While Kenyans struggle with the high cost of living, healthcare contributions that should be improving hospitals and services are instead lining the pockets of a few powerful individuals.
The restructuring of NHIF into SHIF was supposed to solve the long-standing problems in Kenya’s healthcare financing. Instead, it appears to have created a new avenue for corruption, with key players ensuring that they benefit first before any funds trickle down to actual healthcare services.
The link between Mwende Gatabaki’s company, Apeiro, and Adani adds another layer of suspicion, raising fears that foreign entities are also benefiting from the money Kenyans are being forced to pay.
Many Kenyans have already started questioning why a private company, linked to the president’s close advisers, is controlling such an important public system. Instead of ensuring transparency and efficiency, SHIF has become another tool for government insiders to enrich themselves.
The more than 10% deductions that are allegedly being stolen from SHIF contributions prove that this is not about improving healthcare but about exploiting Kenyans for financial gain.
It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken against those involved. However, given the influence that people like Ndii and his wife have in the government, there is little hope that real change will happen.
Kenyans are once again being forced to fund a system that benefits the powerful while leaving the public with fewer resources for actual healthcare. The SHA system, instead of being a solution, has become another example of how corruption continues to dominate Kenya’s leadership.
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