Former presidential economic adviser Moses Kuria has warned that Kenya risks sliding into instability if major reforms are pushed without careful planning, inclusivity and transparency.
Posting on his X account on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, Kuria said Kenya’s problem was not the absence of bold ideas but the failure to manage change effectively.
“Kenya is facing a huge problem, not one of change and transformation, but that of change management. Even the best and well-intentioned transformative ideas can lead to anarchy and conflagration if change is not well managed,” he wrote.
“We still have time, but it is dangerously running out,”Kuria added.Reactions to his statement have been mixed.
Supporters see Kuria as voicing frustrations that many Kenyans feel but few in government dare to admit. Civil society groups welcomed his emphasis on inclusivity and structure, arguing that it reflects the need for a more participatory approach to governance.
Critics, however, accuse him of political opportunism, saying his warnings come late, after he was part of the same system now facing backlash.
Still, Kuria’s intervention has sparked renewed debate about whether the government is pushing too many reforms too quickly, without building the necessary trust or infrastructure to sustain them.
For Kuria, the issue goes beyond SHA or taxation. It is about the broader trajectory of Kenya’s governance. Without deliberate structures to manage reform, he warned, even well-meaning policies could ignite instability, the very opposite of their intended purpose.
Kuria’s remarks follow weeks of public uproar over revelations of fraud within SHA, the government body tasked with implementing universal health
coverage.
The Auditor-General’s latest report flagged irregular procurement, questionable contracts and billions lost through fraudulent hospital claims. Out of KSh 82.7 billion billed to SHA, more than KSh 10.6 billion was rejected after being linked to non-existent facilities, inflated costs and duplicate claims.
Adding to the controversy, it emerged that SHA’s digital system, critical for registering contributors and processing claimsm is owned and controlled by a private consortium, despite being funded by taxpayers. Civil society groups argue that this undermines public trust and leaves the health system vulnerable to manipulation.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has defended the authority, insisting that 95 percent of contributions are spent on healthcare and only 5 percent on administrative costs. He accused critics of politicizing the reforms and urged patience as SHA structures are strengthened.
But private hospitals, doctors’ unions and advocacy groups have expressed frustration, saying the rollout was rushed and lacked proper consultation. Many facilities are also reporting delays in payments, forcing them to scale down services, a development that directly affects patients.
Civil society organizations have demanded a suspension of SHA until systems are audited and made transparent.
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