President William Ruto has suspended Mediheal Founder Dr Swarup Mishra as chair of the Kenya BioVax Institute.
In a statement dated April 18, the president noted that the suspension follows a series of investigations over unethical activities involving the recent cases of organ trafficking.
”The suspension shall remain in force pending the outcome of investigations into serious allegations of unethical and illegal activities involving kidney transplant procedures at Mediheal Hospital and Fertility Centre in Eldoret,” the statement read in part.
Ruto suspends BioVax chair Swarup Mishra over Mediheal kidney transplant scandal. Photo: Courtesy.
An exposé by Deutsche Welle, German media ZDF, and ‘Der Spiegel’ international media houses recently revealed that Kenya was at the center of an organ trafficking syndicate with recipients paying up to $200,000 for an organ transplant.
According to the investigation, both the young yearning to make money and the old desperate for a life-saving organ were exploited in the syndicate.
DW revealed that an international network coordinates the operations, finds local donors through paid referrals, while in some cases, the donors are allegedly flown from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.
Investigations moreover disclosed that vulnerable Kenyans, often desperate for money, were exploited to sell their kidneys.
The recipients of these kidneys mainly came from countries like Germany and Israel.
According to the investigations, the donors were often misled, signing documents they couldn’t understand, and many were left with severe health complications post-surgery.
In the suspension statement, Ruto has assured Kenyans of the government’s responsibility to uphold its integrity.
