DNK International By Correspondent
Fresh claims of favoritism have rocked the Kenya National Public Health Institute, a new unit within the ministry of health just few days after Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale summoned the leadership of Social Health Authority over outcry of nepotism in the national insurers body.
The ministry of health, through its principal secretary for public health and professional standards Mary Muthoni directed the institute’s acting director Dr. Maureen Kamene to strip deputy director of library services Leonard Kingwara from his roles.
Through a letter dated 19, January, 2026, the PS noted that Dr Kingwara is not authorized to undertake services in the unit’s laboratory services since he is not registered with the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board.
“Mr. Leonard Kingwara is not registered or licensed with the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board within the meaning of sections 2, 19, and 20 of Cap 253A.” the letter noted.
In the letter copied to Duale, she further avers that the engagement of unlicensed persons in activities constituting medical laboratory practice presents regulatory, clinical, and medico-legal risks to institutions and the public.
“Mr Leonard Kingwara shall not engage, directly or indirectly, in any activity constituting medical laboratory practice, including laboratory supervision, coordination, validation, forensic analysis, diagnostic testing or professional representation,” she directed.
The contention arising from Dr Kingwara’s reprimanding is how senior office holders who are all working in acting capacities have been treated differently in the past.
Dr Kingwara is a long-serving public officer with 16 years’ cumulative work experience, including 10 years at the Ministry of Health. He holds a Master’s and PhD in Molecular Science.
However, the letter by the PS is in contravention of the court outcomes in 2023 on the creation of the new unit and stability of its officer holders.
Favouritism is claimed to be stepping from the fact that Dr John Ndemi Kiiru had similar qualifications as Kingwara but never faced action from the PS. Kiiru was the previous office holder, who was treated differently despite having similar qualifications.
The Kenya National Public Health Institute is the body that will henceforth be mandated with receiving funds from the ministry’s partners to fund various programmes in the country. Some of the ministry’s notable partners supporting critical health initiatives include Global Fund, World Bank, United States State Department, and African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF).
The development at the unit comes just a few days after a wave of media reports questioning the ethnic composition of recently hired staff at SHA.
Duale, while responding to reports of imbalanced at SHA argued that past administrations entrenched regional and ethnic imbalances in public service hiring, citing audits by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and reports by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) that point to long-standing marginalisation of some communities.
“We must correct historical injustices. That is not my opinion — it is documented in NCIC reports,” Duale said.
The Cabinet Secretary maintained that SHA is following constitutional and statutory guidelines to ensure fair representation across regions, communities, religions and gender.
“All regions, all communities, all religions and all genders must be given equal opportunity,” he said.
Duale confirmed that he was to personally review the recruitment files to assess compliance with constitutional requirements on inclusivity and merit.
The intervention came as SHA prepares to onboard the National Police Service and the Kenya Prisons Service into the social health insurance scheme from April 1, a move expected to significantly expand the authority’s coverage and intensify public scrutiny of its operations.
[DNK-International@January 28,2026]
