Murang’a County has lodged an urgent application in the High Court demanding that the Ministry of Health and the Digital Health Agency restore the Afya.KE health information system, which was switched off on 14 October 2026.

The county argues that the shutdown has cut off access to medical records and halted processing of claims under the Social Health Authority (SHA) across its more than 176 public health facilities.

County Secretary Dr Newton Mwangi, in a supporting affidavit, noted that Afya.KE has been used for over three years to manage patient information, clinical services and administrative tasks.

Mwangi said the platform’s shutdown has impeded health facilities’ ability to retrieve stored information, disrupting continuity of care for more than one million residents and patients from neighbouring counties.

The county highlights that telemedicine services, which supported over 25 000 chronic‑care patients, recorded 76 185 remote consultations between January and October 2026; the loss of these services is described as life‑threatening for patients needing regular drug refills.

Murang’a also warns that the shutdown blocks the submission and processing of SHA claims, potentially costing the county millions of shillings in revenue, after spending over Sh200 million to provide SHA coverage to more than 160 000 vulnerable residents under the Kangata Care programme.

The county contends that alternative systems offered by the Digital Health Agency, such as Tiberbu HMIS, lack telemedicine functionality and cannot preserve three years of historical patient data.

In its application, Murang’a seeks interim court orders restraining respondents from deleting, withholding, corrupting or restricting access to patient records and requests disclosure of any transition plans to alternative platforms.

The suit names the Ministry of Health, the Digital Health Agency, the Health Cabinet Secretary, the Social Health Authority and the Attorney‑General as respondents, with the Council of Governors and the counties of Kiambu and Nairobi listed as interested parties.

The orders sought are interim measures pending a full hearing and determination of the dispute, which the county frames as raising constitutional concerns over the right to health, data protection and devolved health‑service mandates.