Omtatah says Kenya-US health deal was signed unconstitutionally

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has submitted that the multi-billion-shilling health cooperation agreement between Kenya and the United States was negotiated and signed in an unconstitutional, secretive, and illegal manner.

In submissions filed in support of his notice of motion dated December 8, 2025, Omtatah urges the High Court to issue conservatory orders suspending the implementation and execution of the instrument titled “Cooperation Framework Between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the Government of the United States of America on Health.”

He argues that the agreement, signed on December 4, 2025, is not a mere policy framework but a binding international agreement with far-reaching sovereign, financial, policy, and social implications.

According to Omtatah, it was negotiated and executed unilaterally by the executive in a clandestine manner, in blatant violation of constitutional and statutory safeguards.

The senator contends that the framework, which commits Kenya to a five-year, renewable programme with financial obligations estimated at Ksh.200 billion, imposes escalating domestic co-investment requirements, establishes parallel governance structures, and exposes Kenya’s regulatory autonomy and sensitive health data to foreign access and oversight.

The government entered the Ksh.208 billion agreement early this month, becoming the first African nation to adopt a government-to-government health funding model with the United States.

The framework directs U.S. resources into national systems such as the Social Health Authority, Digital Health Authority, KEMSA, and the National Public Health Institute, marking a shift from donor-led programs to locally managed investments.

The High Court ruling early this month halted the implementation of any sections involving the transfer or sharing of sensitive health data, after a petition by Senator Okiya Omtatah.