By James Murimi - Reporter
Kenya, December 16 2025 - Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has announced a crackdown on doctors employed in public health facilities who engage in private practice during official working hours, warning that the practice amounts to fraud and will attract disciplinary action from January next year.
Speaking in Tharaka Nithi County on Tuesday during the commissioning of a new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and an amenity wing at Chuka Level 5 Hospital, Duale said the government would no longer tolerate doctors who neglect public duty for personal financial gain.
“Doctors are paid to work in public facilities from 8am to 5pm. When they abandon these facilities to earn elsewhere during those hours, that is fraud, and we are going to deal with it firmly,” Duale said. He noted that the malpractice had become rampant, with some doctors allegedly referring patients from government hospitals to private facilities they own or operate, leaving public hospitals understaffed and patients underserved.
Duale cited Kenyatta National Hospital as a case in point, saying the facility has more than 26 fully equipped theatres and highly qualified specialists, yet patients are sometimes given surgery or review dates months away. “It is disturbing that a patient can be told to wait for two months, only to be quietly directed to a private hospital for treatment the following day. That behaviour is unethical and unacceptable,” he said.
The CS announced that new enforcement measures would take effect in January, targeting doctors found working in private facilities during official hours while attached to public hospitals. He also directed the Digital Health Authority (DHA) to take action against any doctor registered under a public facility but earning income or making claims from private practice during working hours.
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“We are strengthening digital systems to ensure accountability. Anyone found abusing the system will face consequences,” Duale said. Tharaka Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki supported the move, accusing some doctors of using public hospitals as stepping stones to build their private practices.
“Some doctors are extremely ambitious and want multiple jobs to maximize income. They use public facilities as a holding ground to source patients for their private clinics,” Njuki said. He added that, in some instances, county health facilities are better equipped than the private hospitals to which patients are referred, but are ignored due to financial incentives.
The Health CS also put doctors’ unions on notice, insisting that professionalism and accountability must be upheld in the public health sector. The ICU commissioned at Chuka Level 5 Hospital is the first in the region, with an initial capacity of five beds and two isolation units for critically ill patients.
The newly opened amenity wing is designed to offer patients enhanced services comparable to private hospital accommodation within a public facility.
