High Court declares SHIF unconstitutional, allocates parliament 120 days to correct the legislation
The government's plan to roll out the new Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) to replace NHIF has suffered a blow after the High Court declared it unconstitutional.
Delivering the verdict on Friday, a three-judge bench constituting Justices Alfred Mabeya, Robert Limo, and Fridah Mugambi ruled that there was no public participation in coming up with the new healthcare programme.
The judges further noted that there were disparities in the new Social Health Insurance Act since it would burden a few salaried individuals by creating a disparity in the contributions.
However, the judges suspended the decision for 120 days to give Parliament an opportunity to correct the legislation
The total nullification will be on November 20.
The government had already directed Kenyans to begin registering for SHIF effective July 1, 2024, ahead of the official transition.
