Omtatah in court to stop Ksh.208B Kenya-US health agreement signed in Washington

Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has moved to court seeking orders to suspend and stop the implementation of the Cooperation Framework Between the Government of the Republic of Kenya and the Government of the United States of America on Health, signed on December 4, 2025.

In his application, Omtatah also wants the court to issue a temporary order prohibiting the respondents from “implementing, operationalising, and executing” the agreement between the two countries.

The Senator argues that the 2.5 billion dollar framework that would see the U.S. government invest Ksh.208 billion directly into Kenya's health institutions in the next five years, violates the principle of public participation as it was signed without public participation and parliamentary approval.

“…Unless conservatory orders issue, there is a real risk of the violation of express provisions of the Constitution as the respondents implement the Framework,” Omtatah submits.

He adds, “The Constitution mandates that all state organs and actions affecting the public must involve meaningful public participation. No consultations were held with health stakeholders, civil society, or affected members of the public prior to the signing.”

Omtatah further submits that the Framework threatens to infringe on Kenyans' rights to health as enshrined in the law, noting that “Kenyans were denied a voice, rendering the process arbitrary and exclusionary.”

He further claims that the signing of the Health agreement framework between Washington and Nairobi was done in a “rushed” manner bypassing key legal processes.

“International agreements like the Framework qualify as treaties under Section 2 of the Act, requiring negotiation by the Executive, followed by parliamentary ratification before entry into force. The rushed signing, bypassing Parliament, usurps legislative authority and undermines the sovereignty of the people who delegated sovereign power to Parliament,” the court documents read.

Omtatah further opines that there is a risk of mismanagement of the billions of funds expected to be directly channeled to the Kenyan government by the US.

“The Framework’s direct channelling of funds through government institutions, while eliminating “third-party intermediaries,” lacks safeguards against mismanagement. Kenya’s commitment to match US funding (estimated at US$850 million in additional health spending) burdens the national budget without independent fiscal modelling. This contravenes principles of sustainable public finance and risk-informed decision-making, potentially exacerbating debt and diverting resources from grassroots health needs,” he states.