CS Aden Duale commissioning CT Scan machine in Bungoma Hospital angers Kenyans

In a move that has made many Kenyans angry, the Ministry of Health announced that Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka would personally commission a new CT scan machine at Bungoma County Referral Hospital, today, April 16.

The communication featured a glossy promotional image of the two leaders, framing the installation as a major milestone for public healthcare.

Yet what was intended as a celebratory announcement quickly backfired, garnering hundreds of replies turning the event into a national symbol of misplaced priorities and government extravagance.

Almost instantly, the spectacle was dismissed as excessive and out of touch. The idea that a standard diagnostic machine, long considered a basic requirement for any referral hospital, could be elevated into a ceremonial event struck many as absurd.

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— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) April 15, 2026

The reaction was swift and unforgiving, with Kenyans describing the move as “infantile” and a glaring waste of both time and taxpayer money.

Many highlighted the opportunity cost. One user calculated that the travel and event expenses could have purchased essential medicines, while another suggested the CS could have stayed in Nairobi and saved “a few hundreds of thousands” for actual drugs.

Photos of the hospital’s dilapidated state drove the point home. “Just look at the deplorable state of ambulances in the hospital you’re about to launch one machine in,” posted @ChomaSauce.

The outrage deepened as more voices weighed in, questioning how such a decision could pass through multiple layers of approval.

There was incredulity that, in 2026, a national health ministry would celebrate what many saw as the bare minimum of healthcare provision.

The tone shifted from mockery to concern, with some lamenting that the country had reached “historically low levels” in defining progress.

Netizens pointed out that the resources allocated to travel, logistics, and ceremony could have been redirected toward urgent needs like stocking essential medicines, repairing broken equipment, or improving emergency response capacity.

“We're in the trenches officially. People used to launch hospitals, a whole CS is going to launch a CT scan machine? With a fleet of fuel guzzlers I'm sure. Maybe choppers…” said a concerned Kenyan.

The presence of top officials at what could have been a low-key operational milestone was interpreted as unnecessary since many were of the view that the work could have been handled quietly by local health administrators.

The backlash painted a damning picture of leadership priorities. “Yani in 2026 ‘the new Singapore’ the CS health and governor of the county are going to launch a basic minimum requirement for a REFERRAL hospital,” lamented Wanjohi (@ombudsmandon1).