Kenyan comedian and content creator DJ Shiti used the burial of his father to question whether the Social Health Authority is delivering care for ordinary families, telling mourners that in many public hospitals the only service that works reliably is the mortuary.
Father’s death after years of cancer treatment
His father, Richard Ndede Mbanda — also referred to as Richard Ndege Mbanda — died on the morning of 16 September 2026 after a years-long battle with cancer. DJ Shiti, whose real name is Steven Oduor Dede, announced the death the following day, writing that his “old man joined his ancestors” after seven years of illness and adding: “One day cancer will also die.
Rest in power, Omwami Richard Ndede Mbanda.”
The funeral was held at the family home in Siaya. Addressing mourners and local leaders, Shiti described a long struggle to secure treatment, including care at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
Reports of the speech identify the illness as prostate cancer and place the family’s ordeal at about six years of managing terminal disease — slightly shorter than the seven years he cited when he first announced the death.
DJ Shiti questions SHA coverage in public hospitals
He said families arrive at public facilities only to be told their SHA cover has been exhausted, then redirected in Kiswahili to take their relative elsewhere or raise more money before treatment can continue.
“Na SHA inakata kabisa, inakuletea message kuwa SHA imekata. Tena wanakubadilishia Kiswahili: ‘Chukua huyu mtu wako mpeleke kwa mashini…’ Sasa jamani serikali, tunataka tujue: Hii SHA inafanya kweli ama ni mchezo?” he said, according to accounts of the speech.
He then made the line that has travelled furthest from the funeral.
“Na jambo la pili, kitu ambayo inafanya kazi vizuri kwa hospitali ni mochari. Apart from mochari, hizi vitu zingine hakuna kitu ambayo inaendelea.”
Shiti went further, telling mourners that taking a child to a public hospital now feels like sending them to die, and asked the gathering whether that was the truth or an exaggeration. He contrasted the experience of families dependent on public referral hospitals with that of people who can pay for high-tier private cover, arguing that cancer and other chronic illnesses are pushing ordinary households into repeated out-of-pocket costs.
Thanks to medical staff and calls for accountability
The remarks were not only an attack on the system. Despite the criticism, he thanked the medical team at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital for the care they gave his father over the years, and called on the government and health authorities to close gaps in how SHA is applied and to restore accountability in public hospitals.
Family’s earlier appeal for support
The speech lands against a familiar backdrop. Before the burial, the family had already appealed for help with hospital and funeral costs, sharing an M-Pesa till, 1728307, registered to Stephen Ndede.
That appeal, and the comedian’s earlier tribute, had drawn condolences from fans and fellow entertainers, including Dr. Ofweneke.
What changed at the graveside was the tone. A private loss became a public complaint about a health scheme that, in Shiti’s telling, fails at the moment families need it most—while the mortuary, he said, does not.