A public clash has erupted between Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Murang’a Governor Irungu Kang’ata over the sudden shutdown of the county’s Afya Ke digital health platform. The row centers on ownership, control, and national integration of digital healthcare infrastructure.
In an official statement issued on Thursday, October 15, 2026, Duale firmly refuted claims that the Ministry of Health interrupted or switched off the system, clarifying that the Ministry neither owns nor controls the software, nor does it hold access to its source code.
“The Ministry of Health has not switched off the Afya Ke system,” Duale stated.
Duale characterized the system as a private software agreement between the Murang’a County Government and its external technology vendors. He further rejected allegations that the Digital Health Agency (DHA) refused to certify the platform, clarifying that neither the county leadership nor the software developers submitted a formal certification application.
“The Digital Health Agency (DHA) has also not refused to certify the Afya Ke system. Neither the Afya Ke developers nor Murang’a County has applied for certification,” Duale added.
Addressing potential public alarm, Duale urged Governor Kang’ata to refrain from making statements that could mislead residents or create panic across the health sector.
The Ministry reassured Murang’a residents that Social Health Authority (SHA) beneficiaries can access medical services seamlessly through established national platforms.
Governor Kang’ata Rebuts Ministry Claims with Technical Evidence
Governor Kang’ata swiftly rejected the Ministry’s stance, describing the assertion that Afya Ke operates as a private software arrangement as “shocking” and “totally untrue”.
Writing on social media platform X, Kang’ata questioned how a private platform could secure and operate under an official state domain.
“Gosh, this is shocking. Totally untrue. How does it have a go.ke domain name?” Kang’ata posted.
To substantiate his position, Kang’ata pointed out that other state institutions and public facilities utilize the platform.
“Department of Defence; Tharaka Nithi and Kitengela Govt hospitals – all have it,” he added.
The governor published a WHOIS domain registration screenshot demonstrating that afyake.go.ke is registered through the Kenya Network Information Centre (KeNIC) with nameservers hosted directly by the National Treasury: ns1.treasury.go.ke, ns2.treasury.go.ke, and ns3.treasury.go.ke.
While domain nameservers reflect web hosting routing rather than direct software source code ownership, Kang’ata presented the records to dispute the Ministry’s characterization of the platform as an external vendor setup.
Impact on Patient Records, Operations, and Costs
The digital dispute follows Kang’ata’s warning on Wednesday, October 14, that the platform’s sudden disconnection risks locking healthcare workers out of critical electronic medical records across 165 county facilities.
Kang’ata emphasized that the shutdown violated earlier verbal assurances from Duale promising to integrate the local software with the national Social Health Authority platform rather than taking it offline.
“This is despite Afya. Ke being a free government system, and despite a promise that was made to me by the cabinet secretary in charge of health, Mr Duale, in my presence that Afya.Ke would be interconnected to SHA and not shut down,” Kang’ata said.
In service across Murang’a since 2023, Afya Ke manages electronic medical records, diagnostic lab results, prescriptions, and remote telemedicine consultations.
Kang’ata raised concerns over financial and operational burdens, noting that Afya Ke operated at no cost to the county government. He warned that migrating health facilities to a replacement platform could cause operational delays, slow patient care workflows, and impede real-time insurance claim submissions to the Social Health Authority.
The dispute underscores growing national friction as the Ministry of Health works to standardize digital healthcare platforms and mandate unified medical data exchange frameworks across all 47 counties. Despite the dispute, CS Duale reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to supporting county governments in modernizing local digital health initiatives safely and transparently.
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