The Commission on Administrative Justice has ordered the Chief Executive Officer of the Social Health Authority (SHA) to release detailed information on the methods used to calculate monthly contributions under the Social Health Insurance Fund.
In a statement issued on Monday, December 8, 2025, the commission directed the CEO to comply with an information request submitted by journalist JK on behalf of Africa Uncensored within 21 days. Failure to do so, the commission warned, will trigger a recommendation for criminal prosecution under Section 28 of the Access to Information Act, 2016.
The commission specifically instructed the SHA to grant access to all records linked to the means-testing process. This includes the dataset used to train the models currently applied in computing contributions, as well as a breakdown of the counties where the system was first tested ahead of national rollout, alongside the resulting outputs.
The authority was also ordered to publish response statistics for every question in the means-testing form, showing how registrants typically answered and how those responses translated into contribution levels.
In addition, SHA must disclose all models used across the different versions of the Means Testing Instrument, together with the dependent variables for each model. The commission further demanded full publication of the mathematical formulae underpinning the system, including all coefficients, variable names, structural parameters, estimation errors, and the distribution of predicted per-capita contributions, including both mean and median values.
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The CEO is also required to submit performance reports or statistical summaries showing how the models are currently performing. These must include anonymised user data, assigned contribution levels, and the corresponding variables supplied by members of the public or a representative nationwide sample.
All disclosures must be made within 21 days from the date of the directive.
How SHA Means Testing Works
Kenya’s means-testing framework under the SHA is designed to assess the financial capacity of households, particularly those without stable incomes, to set fair contributions to the Social Health Insurance Fund. The system factors in housing conditions, access to basic services, household size and composition, as well as spending behaviour.
To estimate income, the model also analyses digital footprints such as mobile transactions, banking activity, credit bureau data and selected retail spending patterns.
The commission’s order now places the entire process under public scrutiny, setting the stage for one of the most transparent audits yet of Kenya’s new health financing architecture.