A Minet Kenya-led consortium of underwriters received premiums from TSC; those funds were channelled to MAKL as medical administrator and Bliss as master capitator.
Intense canvassing, arm-twisting and reports of money changing hands threaten the integrity of the process to pick the next Secretary and CEO of the Teachers Service Commission.
Sources inside and around the commission name healthcare tycoon Jayesh Umesh Saini, the man behind Nairobi West Hospital, Bliss Healthcare, LifeCare Hospitals and Medical Administrators Kenya Limited (MAKL), as the individual most aggressively seeking to shape the outcome.
At stake is not merely a job but the multi-billion-shilling medical administration and insurance ecosystem that once funnelled roughly Sh161 billion in public funds for teachers over nearly a decade.
Five candidates were shortlisted from 124 applicants. Interviews are set for Monday, 16 November 2026 at TSC headquarters in Upper Hill.
The shortlist includes acting CEO Dr Evaleen Jesang Mitei (Uasin Gishu), long-serving Director of Finance Cheptumo Ayabei (Baringo), Robert Odette (Migori), Lawrence Ngai Kaburu (Tharaka Nithi) and Farah Abdi Saman (Mandera).
Public submissions via sworn affidavits were due by 13 November. Sources within the commission say Saini has poured resources and pressure to ensure Ayabei, a mathematics and economics-trained teacher with a Bachelor of Education from Kenyatta University who rose through finance ranks since 1999, emerges the winner.
