Duale: My focus is on Ruto’s health agenda, not 2027 campaigns

ALE

For a man who has spent years at the centre of Kenya’s political theatre, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale now insists his eyes are fixed far from the 2027 battlefield.

In an interview with the Star, hedismissed suggestions that his high-profile reforms are a springboard for future political ambition.

Instead, he described his current role as a defining service assignment under President William Ruto.

“I am unequivocally committed to the assignment I have been given by His Excellency the President,” CS Duale said. “My sole focus is delivering universal health coverage (UHC) for the people of Kenya. Healthcare transcends political cycles.”

Yet politics shadows any reform drive. The rollout of the Social Health Authority, restructuring of insurance benefits, crackdown on fraud and digitisation of the system have triggered intense public debate.

Even so, the Health CS appears unfazed.

For him, reforming health financing is more about dismantling entrenched cartels that have siphoned billions of shillings from public coffers over the years.

He saidthat the ministry has forwarded more than 1,180 fraud files to investigative agencies, with dozens of facilities and former officials under probe.

“This is a genuine accountability process. The ministry treats these acts as economic crimes. The era of administrative slaps on the wrist is over,” he said, framing the crackdown as an economic crime fight rather than a political purge.

The CS argues that healthcare reforms are inherently disruptive, revealing that 248 facilities are currently under active probe by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

Nine case files are before the court, with Sh305 million recovered from culpable facilities. Eyes are cast on recovering another Sh817 million.

Duale maintains that the measures, which saw former SHA chief executive officers tipped for the dock, are about sustainability, not scoring political points.

“Disease does not ask about your political affiliation,” he said. “The decisions we make today - digitising the system, equipping county hospitals, reforming SHA, are about securing the dignity of future generations.”

Strikes by doctors and nurses, payroll disputes and calls for a Health Service Commission continue to test relations between the national and county governments.

On whether devolving health services was a mistake, Duale is emphatic.

“Devolution was not a mistake. It was one of the greatest equalisers in our nation’s history,” he said, pointing to the expansion of levels 4 and 5 hospitals across all 47 counties.

For the CS, the solution for healthcare challenges lies in coordination rather than re-centralisation.

His firm stance extends to the contentious debate over foreign doctors working in the country.

Citing labour market data showing thousands of unemployed Kenyan doctors, Duale said the ministry will prioritise local professionals.

“It is economically and morally indefensible to import doctors when our own are unemployed,” he said.

“This is not a xenophobic standoff; it is a pragmatic, unapologetic labour protection policy. The end game is simple: Kenyan jobs for Kenyan doctors first.”

Asked directly whether 2027 factors into his political calculus, he returned to the script of service.

“Our compass is the constitutional right to health, not the manoeuvring of tomorrow’s politics.”

Born in Garissa in 1969, CS Duale’s journey from classroom teacher to one of the most powerful figures in government reflects both political loyalty and survival.

He began his career in the early 1990s, teaching at Sankuri Secondary School, a job he left after about a year.

He later worked as a clerical officer and director at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation before venturing into family business.

His political rise began in 2007 when he won the Dujis parliamentary seat on an ODM ticket.

His trajectory shifted in 2011 when he walked out to co-found the United Republican Party alongside Ruto, a move that reshaped his fortunes.

The alliance propelled him to become the first Majority leader of the National Assembly under the Jubilee administration, a position he held for eight years.

His fierce defence of the government cemented his reputation as a combative and loyal lieutenant.

Loyalty to Ruto cost him the Majority leader post during the 2020 handshake era, but solidified his place in the President’s inner circle.

After the 2022 election victory, Duale was appointed Defence CS, later moved to Environment, and in March last year, handed the Health docket at the height of the turbulent SHA rollout.

A father of five, Duale holds a Bachelor of Education from Moi University and an MBA from Jomo Kenya University of Agriculture and Technology. He’s been digging his teeth in law as well.

Known for his blunt, no-nonsense style, he now faces perhaps the most complex test of delivering UHC while confronting entrenched interests.

For now, Duale insists the only race he is running is against time to fix the health system.