High Court Hits Ruto’s Health Taskforce, Rules It Unconstitutional
The High Court ruled that the presidential committee created by President William Ruto to address human resource difficulties in health is unconstitutional.
Ruto established the Presidential Taskforce on Human Resources for Health in July 2024 to address key issues in Kenya’s healthcare system. The task force is led by Professor Khama Rogo.
However, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and other civil groups filed a lawsuit alleging that the task force’s formation was unlawful.
They said that it duplicated and usurped the mission of the Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council, a legislative organization created by the Health Act of 2017.
The High Court has declared the Presidential taskforce on addressing Human Resources for Health as unconstitutional. The Judge has also dismissed an application seeking to stay the decision. pic.twitter.com/05yp74sOX8
— Ndung'u Wainaina (@NdunguWainaina) February 6, 2025
They also chastised the government for failing to carry out the council’s authorized functions.
On Thursday, February 6, Justice Bahati Mwamuye pronounced the Presidential Task Force unlawful.
The Attorney General requested that the decision be suspended for 30 days as the tenure came to an end. However, Justice Mwamuye rejected the application.
The 20-member team was initially assigned a six-month mission to develop solutions for improving healthcare professional recruiting, training, and retention.
The task force’s goals include identifying legal and administrative hurdles to healthcare delivery and suggesting broad reforms to boost the workforce.
President Ruto extended the task force’s mandate for another 60 days in December 2024, giving the committee till March 2025 to finalize its recommendations.
The committee will advise on the employment framework for 20,000 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and clinical officers.
This will help to enhance the doctor-patient ratio in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines.
Furthermore, it will evaluate the effectiveness of existing human resources and provide recommendations to improve service delivery across the country.
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The team’s findings are expected to have a significant impact on Kenya’s future healthcare system.
This month, the task force presented its conclusions to the National Assembly’s Committee on Health, emphasizing many significant concerns.
These included structural inefficiencies within the Ministry of Health, regulatory disputes amongst oversight organizations, data management issues, and worries about the quality of training for healthcare personnel.
The research underlined the importance of integrating contradictory policy documents and developing a centralized health data repository to improve data security and access.
High Court Hits Ruto’s Health Taskforce, Rules It Unconstitutional
