Serious questions are emerging over how Kenya’s mandatory inbound travel health insurance requirement — anchored in Section 26(6) of the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 — is being administered, with sources alleging that a scheme meant to protect visitors and channel funds into the country’s health financing architecture has instead become a vehicle for private enrichment.
What the law says
Section 26(6) requires any non-Kenyan staying under 12 months to hold a travel health insurance cover designated by the Cabinet Secretary, per the Cabinet’s December 13, 2023 directive tied to visa-free entry from January 2024.
On its face, the logic was sound: pair visa liberalisation with baseline cover, routed transparently through Immigration/e-Citizen into SHA’s books.
What sources allege instead
Sources say the process has instead been routed through the Digital Health Agency (DHA), with underwriting single-sourced to a narrow pool — chiefly AON Minet and CIC Insurance. Only 14 of Kenya’s 48 licensed underwriters are said to have been brought in, raising questions about how selection was made and whether it was competitively procured.
The selected under-writers met on Monday at a closed-door meeting where phones of attendees were reportedly confiscated.
Pricing gap
Sources indicate a product that should cost $50–$100 — standard for short-stay travel cover globally — is allegedly inflated to as much as $500 per visitor, a five-to-tenfold mark-up that could deter visitors altogether.
This would make it too expensive for anyone to visit Kenya – yet the funds will be diverted out of government coffers.
Who allegedly benefits
Sources allege AON Minet retains 10% on top of a separate administrative fee, while DHA retains 2% on top of its own — undisclosed layered margins with no visible public disclosure, competitive tender, or parliamentary scrutiny.
The Jayesh Saini connection
Sources further claim the cover is structured to channel patients toward hospitals associated with businessman Jayesh Saini, with AON Minet’s involvement said to run via Star Insurance — raising concerns about a mandatory state-designated product pre-directing beneficiaries to a specific private hospital network.
Some of his hospitals include Nairobi West Hospital, Bliss Hospitals, Clinix and Lifecare Hospitals.
A product mismatch
Travel insurance globally — including CIC’s own product — is built to cover flight delays, emergency stabilisation/evacuation, and lost luggage, not comprehensive in-country medical treatment. Pricing a travel cover like a health policy blurs a distinction that protects consumers.
Why it matters
Four concerns stand out: procurement opacity, alleged consumer overcharging, undisclosed fee stacking, and a possible conflict of interest steering patients to one hospital network.
None of these claims are yet confirmed on the record; COFEK is treating them as serious enough to warrant formal inquiry.
What happens next
COFEK is still seeking comment from DHA, AON Minet, CIC, and Star Insurance; clarification from the Ministry of Health and IRA on procurement; and confirmation of whether any Section 26(6) designation was gazetted.
This article will be updated as responses are received and verification is completed.
