The Social Health Authority (SHA) has quietly taken down from its website a list showing billions of shillings in claim payments to hospitals, further fueling suspicions around the ongoing ghost hospitals scandal.

On Monday evening, the Kenya Master Health Facility Registry (KMHFR) was also disabled, locking out the public from verifying hospital details, locations, and payment records.

The move has ignited a new wave of anger among Kenyans, who see it as a blatant attempt to conceal corruption within the new scheme, which replaced the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Instead of the ministry addressing the issue they have decided to attack the fourth estate giving its credibility benefit of doubts.

“No amount of propaganda or blackmail will deter us from fixing our healthcare system. We know saboteurs of SHA have recruited several groups including some sections of the media to advance their agenda. Let them be warned: We are fixing this thing regardless of the noise! our work has just begun. We will not rest until every Kenyan has access to quality, affordable, and dignified healthcare, free from the burden of fraud,”tweeted Health CS.

Investigations had earlier revealed that some hospitals flagged in the payouts were little more than kiosks, while others classified as Level 4 lacked even a single inpatient bed.

Dr. Brian Lishenga, chairperson of the Rural and Urban Private Hospitals Association of Kenya (RUPHA), condemned the decision:

“This was a public site, and by pulling it down, the ministry is going against the right to access information. It also proves the ministry has no control over its own data and regulators.”

He accused the Ministry of Health of trying to cover its tracks instead of addressing glaring irregularities.

“If the registry is hidden, how will Kenyans even know where health facilities are located? This is the same platform the ministry itself uses to contract hospitals.”

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has called for a full investigation, saying the withdrawal of public data only raises more questions.

“Instead of shutting down transparency, SHA should open its books. Kenyans deserve to know how their money is being spent,” Duale said.

Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi was more blunt, accusing top officials of orchestrating a cover-up:

My friend Aden Aduale, ignore this Newspaper, it’s like a tissue toilet paper.

My friend Aden Aduale, ignore this Newspaper, it’s like a tissue toilet paper.

“Hii mambo ya kuficha majina ya ghost hospitals ni mchezo. Wamekula pesa sasa wanazima website. We will not allow such impunity,” he wrote on X.

RUPHA has threatened protests and possible legal action to compel the ministry to restore public access to the registry. Civil society groups are also piling pressure, insisting that any attempt to conceal health sector data undermines both accountability and service delivery.

For now, the suspension of KMHFR has only deepened public mistrust in SHA, with many Kenyans demanding that the government publish the full list of hospital payments immediately.