Court suspends government’s mandatory Sh6.4m visitor health insurance
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale before the National Assembly health committee at Parliament buildings in Nairobi on May 15, 2025.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Correspondent
Nation Media Group
The High Court in Marsabit has suspended implementation of government’s decision to introduce Sh6.4 million mandatory travel health insurance for foreign visitors.
Justice Francis Rayola Olel granted the interim orders after the two Marsabit residents challenged Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale’s Gazette Notice establishing the requirement. The orders will remain in force pending hearing of the application on September 16, 2026.
The petition comes weeks after Vantage Point Ventures and the Consumers Federation of Kenya also challenged the notice and the programme’s implementation and insurer selection.
The contested notice, published on July 30, requires foreign visitors intending to stay in Kenya for less than 12 months to have travel health insurance with minimum cumulative benefits of US$50,000 (Sh6.4 million).
The cover must provide at least US$20,000 for medical expenses and US$25,000 for emergency medical transportation. It must provide US$300 for prescribed medicines, US$1,000 for mental illness and US$5,000 for repatriation of mortal remains.
The notice says, “the mandatory inbound travel health insurance shall be provided by insurers approved and licensed under the Insurance Act.” The mandatory cover is intended to accompany the foreign visitor for the entire period of their stay in Kenya.
Petitioners Edow Issack Mohammed, a businessman from El Wak, and activist Zhulekha Mohamed Edin challenged the requirement on grounds of alleged inadequate policy and administrative framework, and privacy and data-protection risks.
They also cited lack of public participation and potentially unaccounted taxpayer costs arising from changes to the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system.
They argue the Health Ministry exceeded its mandate by directing Immigration to verify insurance through the ETA system and at designated entry points, a function they say falls under the Interior Ministry and Directorate of Immigration, while regulation of insurers belongs to the Insurance Regulatory Authority.
The petitioners also challenge the handling of personal information, citing inadequate data protection safeguards in the process.
They say the rollout lacks the policy and administrative framework required under Section 26(7) of the Social Health Insurance Act.
“The Gazette Notice and the subsequent clarification are contradictory,” they say in an affidavit.
They say the clarification instead allows compliant insurance policies bought in travellers’ countries of origin, creating uncertainty over which policies qualify for foreign travellers entering Kenya.
The Ministry of Health’s clarification says travellers with qualifying insurance from their home countries can upload proof through the eTA system.
Those without compliant cover may obtain a policy at a designated entry point in Kenya.
The petitioners say Immigration lacks the statutory capacity to authenticate insurance policies, which they contend is a function of the Insurance Regulatory Authority.
They argue that imposing an entry condition through the Health Ministry interferes with powers assigned to the Interior Ministry and Immigration under the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act.
The petition asks the court to declare the Gazette Notice void, quash it and prohibit implementation.
Justice Olel certified the application as urgent and allowed the request to suspend operationalisation and enforcement pending hearing.
He directed the petitioners to serve the respondents within three days and gave the government 10 days after service to respond.
Petitioners have five days to file a supplementary affidavit before the September 16 hearing.
The respondents include the Ministry of Interior, the Principal Secretary for Immigration, Mr Duale, Principal Secretary for Medical Services Dr Ouma Oluga and the Attorney General.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health said the requirement applies to non-Kenyans staying less than 12 months.
The petition invokes constitutional provisions on participation, privacy, access to information and lawful administrative action.
The petitioners say implementing the requirement would require changes to the ETA system and additional resources, without explaining how those costs would be funded.
They ask the court to determine whether the notice lawfully assigns functions between Health, Immigration and insurance regulators.
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