Multiple whistleblowers attached to Kiamaiko Dispensary, a Level 2 public health facility located in the Mathare sub-county of Nairobi, have come forward to expose serious mismanagement of public funds and operational resources, including allocations under the Service Delivery Health Account (SHA).
Speaking under the condition of strict anonymity, some staff are describing a persistent culture of financial opacity and administrative control concentrated in the hands of a female facility manager and her close associates, leaving regular personnel and Community Health Promoters systematically sidelined, intimidated, and excluded from key operational and resource decisions.
Reports point towards a consistent pattern of opaque financial practices, deliberate exclusion from decision-making, and the diversion of allowances and activity funds to close associates and relatives of the female facility leader, while legitimate staff, interns, and Community Health Promoters are systematically marginalized, harassed, or intimidated.
Budgeting processes are said to be conducted through community board meetings that exclude medical personnel, with CHPs instructed to sign pre-prepared documents without explanation or opportunity for discussion, fostering an atmosphere of enforced secrecy and coercion.
Resources earmarked for staff welfare, including breakfast and lunch provisions, are reportedly mismanaged, leaving employees with irregular or inadequate supplies and no transparency regarding fund allocation or utilization.
Allegations further indicate collusion and favoritism, with SHA operations controlled exclusively by the facility leader and a closely associated staff member, effectively preventing others from participating or questioning decisions.
Efforts to raise concerns are met with threats of transfers, removals, or termination, reinforced by a perceived protective network shielding the facility in-charge from accountability.
Collectively, these reports portray a work environment dominated by abuse of authority, financial misappropriation and systemic suppression of transparency, eroding both staff morale and the quality of service delivery to the community.
In light of these grievances, the whistleblowers are demanding a thorough, independent audit of the facility’s finances and operational procedures, calling for intervention by the Ministry of Health, the Nairobi City County Health Department, and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to urgently investigate mismanagement, ensure accountability, safeguard public funds, and implement corrective measures to restore transparency and equitable access to resources for all staff and Community Health Promoters.
They are also seeking the protection of staff who raise concerns through mechanisms outlined under the Public Officer Ethics Act and the Leadership and Integrity framework, to prevent retaliation such as intimidation, transfers, or termination.
The personnel have vowed to keep pressing for stricter oversight of budget allocation and activity funding, including allowances, breakfast, and lunch provisions, with clear documentation and participation of all relevant staff members.
Central to their appeal is the need to end favouritism and collusion, ensuring that decisions regarding SHA operations and other public resources are inclusive, accountable, and guided by established governance protocols.
Through these measures, the whistleblowers hope to restore equitable access to resources, rebuild staff morale, and guarantee that public funds are utilized solely for enhancing service delivery to patients and the wider community.
“Hello Cyprian. Kindly treat this message with strict confidentiality and do not reveal my identity. I am writing as a concerned Community Health Promoter, CHP, currently attached to Kiamaiko Dispensary to raise serious concerns regarding the management of SHA and other public funds allocated to government health facilities. At Kiamaiko Dispensary, the facility in-charge is Susan Wanjiku. Over the past 3 years, there has been a consistent pattern of lack of transparency, abuse of authority, and alleged misappropriation of facility funds. The following issues have been observed. The facility in-charge does not hold staff or facility meetings and deliberately withholds information on how much money the facility receives and how much is allocated per department. Staff are not allowed to discuss financial matters related to the facility. Anyone who raises concerns is victimized, harassed, and excluded from outreaches, trainings, or activities that involve allowances. During funded activities, relatives and close associates of the facility in-charge are brought in to participate and sign for allowances, while interns, CHPs, and legitimate staff are sidelined or excluded. Motivation and opportunities are only given to staff who unquestioningly support the facility in-charge. Trainings are unfairly allocated, with staff sent to trainings unrelated to their departments as punishment, while qualified personnel are deliberately locked out for raising accountability concerns. Staff are not aware whether the facility has a board, who the board members are, or whether board meetings take place. Budgeting for the facility is allegedly conducted through community board meetings that do not include even a single medical staff member, despite the fact that these budgets directly affect service delivery and staff welfare. It has also been reported that Community Health Promoters, CHPs, are sometimes invited to attend these budgeting meetings together with individuals whose identities and roles are not clearly disclosed. However, after attending, CHPs are issued with already prepared and printed documents. CHPs are explicitly instructed not to read or review the documents. The facility in-charge directs them to sign immediately, without explanation, discussion, or opportunity to ask questions. This practice raises serious concerns about informed consent and procedural integrity. Furthermore, CHPs are warned that whatever is discussed during these meetings must not be shared with anyone else and should remain strictly among those present. This creates an atmosphere of intimidation and suppresses transparency and accountability. These actions suggest possible violations of public finance management principles, ethical governance standards, and whistleblower protection norms. I respectfully request an independent investigation into these practices and appropriate corrective action. Instead of holding transparent staff meetings and involving departments in budget planning, the facility in-charge approaches departments individually, asking them what they want to be facilitated to, provides minimal supplies, and allegedly misappropriates the remaining funds through falsified data, cooked meeting minutes, and collusion with specific staff members and some sub-county officials. There are funds allocated for the provision of breakfast and lunch for staff at the facility. However, in actual practice, staff are only occasionally provided with plain tea, dry tea, for lunch, and this is done inconsistently and for a limited number of days. Afterward, staff are informed that there are no funds available for breakfast. Furthermore, staff members have never been informed of the amounts allocated for breakfast and lunch. There is no transparency regarding the budget, how the funds are utilized, or the reasons why the allocated meals are not consistently provided. No accountability mechanisms have been shared with staff, and no records have been made available to explain the discrepancies between the allocated funds and the services delivered. This situation has raised serious concerns regarding the possible mismanagement or diversion of staff welfare funds intended for their benefit. I am submitting this report in good faith and in the interest of accountability, transparency, and proper use of public resources. The conduct of the facility in-charge has angered and frustrated most staff members and Community Health Promoters, CHPs. Her behavior has led to poor working relations, intimidation, and widespread dissatisfaction within the facility. There is a CIHEB-employed staff member attached to the facility who is a close friend of the in-charge. This individual serves as her primary source of information, reporting all internal facility matters directly to her. Due to this relationship, the in-charge awarded her the SHA registration docket. As a result, SHA activities are now controlled exclusively by the in-charge and this CIHEB staff member. Other staff members are sidelined and are not allowed to question or participate in SHA-related processes, raising serious concerns about transparency, favoritism, and possible abuse of authority. Additionally, it is widely believed among staff that the facility in-charge is protected by a powerful individual, godfather, within the system. Whenever such concerns are raised, the issues are allegedly silenced and no action is taken. Instead, staff who question these practices are transferred, reshuffled, or removed, while new staff who are unaware of what has been happening are posted to the facility. There is a strong fear that after this matter is raised, facility staff may be reshuffled, posted out, or that some CHPs may be stopped from working or get fired. Whenever concerns of this nature arise, staff are allegedly summoned, interrogated, threatened, or intimidated in an attempt to identify who raised the issue. There is widespread fear that internal or external actors, including IT personnel or investigative agencies, may be involved in efforts to trace and expose whistleblowers so that they can be punished, transferred, or dismissed. This fear has discouraged many staff and CHPs from speaking out despite being aware of the ongoing issues. These practices have severely affected staff morale and compromised service delivery to the community. I believe this is not an isolated case and that other small facilities that are rarely audited may be engaging in similar misconduct. As we begin a new year, it is important that these issues are exposed so that public funds are used to serve patients and communities, not to enrich individuals. Thank you for standing for accountability and the public interest. Sincerely, a Concerned Community Health Promoter, CHP, Whistleblower.”
