The Employment and Labour Relations court on Thursday blocked the new health insurance agency, the Social Health Authority (SHA), from proceeding with a hiring process that excluded most job seekers.
- •In a petition brought by Said Omar Abdile, the Employment and Labour Relations Court declared the Social Health Authority’s (SHA) recruitment process unconstitutional, discriminatory, and in violation of multiple provisions of the law.
- •The court ordered SHA to cancel its internal job advertisements and relaunch the process on a competitive and transparent basis.
- •The issue revolved around SHA’s March 2025 advertisement of numerous high and mid-level positions, ranging from directors and finance officers to administrative staff, which it restricted exclusively to former employees of the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).
“The recruitment process restricted to former NHIF staff violated the principles of fair competition and equal opportunity. The former staff did not automatically become employees of the new authority and cannot be treated as internal applicants,” ruled Justice Byram Ongaya.
NHIF was dissolved in November 2023 under the new Social Health Insurance Act following years of documented corruption, financial mismanagement, and service delivery failures.
The court found that the recruitment process improperly treated former NHIF staff as internal applicants, despite the fact that the new authority is legally distinct and required to conduct fresh hiring. The ruling emphasized that former NHIF employees may apply and can be given priority where qualified, but only within an open and competitive process.
The ruling clarified that transitional provisions under the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023 do not permit automatic absorption or exclusive recruitment of NHIF staff. Instead, the Social Health Authority must first establish an approved staffing structure and then conduct a merit-based recruitment process governed by the Public Service Commission Act.
The Attorney General and the Ministry of Health, listed as respondents, did not oppose the petition. The Public Service Commission supported SHA’s limited approach, citing legal provisions giving priority to former NHIF employees, but the court found this interpretation excessive and contrary to constitutional principles.