Kenya's High Court has suspended implementation of parts of the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework involving sensitive health data transfer. Signed on December 4, 2025, the deal faces a petition from Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), who argue it violates privacy rights and national sovereignty. Government officials have criticized the petitioners for obstructing health programs.
On December 4, 2025, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi signed the Kenya-US Health Cooperation Framework with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC, with President William Ruto in attendance. The five-year agreement aims to provide incremental funding of Ksh 10 billion to 50 billion, recruit thousands of employees, and improve health services, but involves transferring health data without individual consent.
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah and the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) filed a petition, questioning: "At the heart of this petition is the question, to whom does health data belong? And the answer emphatically is that they belong to each individual." Omtatah raised concerns over historical experiments like the Tuskegee syphilis trials, asking: "What guarantee do we have that we are not quickly opening up a laboratory of guinea pigs for experiments on various things?" They argued the deal violates the Data Protection Act, Digital Health Act, and Article 10 of the Constitution on public participation.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued conservatory orders suspending sections related to the transfer of medical, epidemiological, or other sensitive health data until the case is heard. The matter will be mentioned on February 12, 2025, before Justice Lawrence Mugambi. COFEK, through secretary general Stephen Mutoro, stated: "These are sensitive data and property of millions of Kenyans, and also part of the national health security infrastructure."
Meanwhile, Mudavadi and Defence Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya, speaking during the commissioning of Sololo Level 4 Hospital in Marsabit County on December 11, 2025, condemned the petitioners. Mudavadi said: "There are some Kenyans who wake up and think about how to sabotage the government on a daily basis; some even have gone to court to reject the health program that President Ruto got money to implement from the US." Tuya added: "It is saddening to see someone going to court to stop the UHC program while Kenyans are suffering in need of these services." They noted neighboring countries like Uganda have signed similar deals, with Rwanda to follow, and the government will contest the petition.
Omtatah emphasized that the state cannot commercialize health data without consent, and the case could reach the Supreme Court.
