The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) risks losing billions of shillings in land in what a Parliamentary Committee describes as a fraudulent scheme to defraud Kenyans.
The fund is also expected to lose a 10-acre plot of excellent land worth Ksh. 5.3 in Nairobi's Karen suburbs.
During a Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration, and Agriculture hearing on Wednesday, it was revealed that the company may lose the funds due to illegalities in acquiring the land and contracting with multiple entities to build a car park on the site.
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The long-standing saga originates in 2002 when NHIF allegedly acquired the land Peter David Leparuku claimed.
Nairobi City County informed the Committee that the owner had already made the payments; therefore, their attempts to pay the land rates were futile.
NHIF CEO Elijah Wachira said the fund last paid land rates in 2013. However, this year's attempt to settle was fruitless since the county informed them that Leparuku had already paid the rates.
The committee also questioned how the fund was invested in the land despite the possibility of losing it, which violated government regulations restricting such transactions.
The fund had planned to build a hospital on the property, but it ultimately decided to make a multi-story parking lot instead. The project was intended to cost Ksh.2.1 billion, but due to unusual conditions, the cost suddenly rose to Ksh.3.9 billion.
Wachira informed the committee that no records illustrate how the variation was done, although he insisted that his team had presented all available evidence.
The Karen land saga may generate a significant hole in the newly established Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF),
