Kenyans are now openly questioning whether Aden Duale is fit to serve as Cabinet Secretary for Health. The noise around him has grown louder in recent days, with frustration spilling onto social media where the hashtag #DualeMustGo is trending.
For a man who has spent years in government, moving from one powerful post to another, the criticism reflects a deep dissatisfaction with his record and his style of leadership.
What was supposed to be a new chapter for the health sector under the Social Health Authority has instead exposed old patterns of corruption, negligence, and mistrust, all falling squarely on Duale’s shoulders.
The Social Health Authority was introduced to replace the troubled National Hospital Insurance Fund, but its operations are already clouded by serious scandals.
Reports show that fake hospitals, some barely existing on the ground, have been awarded millions of shillings. Zamzam Nursing Home in Rhamu, for instance, reportedly received over eight million shillings within just three months, yet there is little evidence that it serves the numbers claimed.
Duale has often responded by announcing suspensions, but no arrests or prosecutions follow, leaving many Kenyans convinced that this is a deliberate cover-up. While these ghost facilities pocket public funds, real hospitals remain understaffed and patients continue to suffer.
Critics argue that the pattern is not accidental. Many of the fraudulent health facilities have been traced to North Eastern Kenya, Duale’s own backyard.
This raises troubling questions about favoritism, weak oversight, and possible complicity. At the same time, Kenyans are being forced to pay more into the scheme without seeing better services.
Elderly citizens who once contributed monthly are now pushed to pay hefty annual fees upfront, sometimes being advised to borrow from government funds to manage.
Meanwhile, hundreds of nursing interns have been left without postings, even as ghost payrolls show repeated names drawing salaries.
These are not small mistakes they are failures that directly affect people’s health and livelihoods.
Duale’s track record in other ministries is also far from clean. His time as Defense Secretary was marked by accusations of overstepping his role, interfering with operations, and mishandling procurement.
The military reportedly breathed a sigh of relief when he left, with scandals around recruitment and poor oversight of equipment still fresh in their memory.
His rumored business links to Somalia, a country with tense relations with Kenya, also raised suspicion, and the warm congratulations he received from Somalia’s defense ministry only deepened the unease.
Under his watch, the Chief of Defense Forces died in a helicopter crash tied to faulty procurement, a tragedy that highlighted how negligence and corruption can cost lives.
The pattern continues in health, where his lack of professional expertise is showing. Instead of focusing on solutions, Duale has been accused of nepotism, even appointing his uncle to a key position in the Nursing Council of Kenya.
His reckless remarks about shareholding in government and dangerous comparisons between the coming 2027 elections and the violence of 2007 have only worsened his image.
Such statements risk fueling tribal division at a time when Kenyans desperately need unity.
For many citizens, enough is enough. They see a leader who has been in office for too long yet delivers the same scandals and excuses.
Health services are deteriorating, money is being siphoned off, and divisions are being fueled at the expense of ordinary people.
The demand captured in #DualeMustGo is more than just online anger, it is a cry for accountability and change.
If Duale has the country’s interest at heart, he should step aside and allow someone with real competence and integrity to rebuild trust in the health system. Otherwise, the cost of his failures will keep falling on ordinary Kenyans, who can no longer afford silence.
