Government to form anti-fraud police unit for taming quack doctors

Health Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale said on Sunday that the nationwide crackdown will target fake clinics and medics, and the special police unit will be deployed alongside the Kenya Medical Practitioners Council officials to enforce required standards. 

"We will crack the whip. We are planning to form an Anti-fraud police unit to deal with fraud in SHA," he said.

"If you are a quack doctor or a healthcare practitioner who is not licensed, I am telling them they better look for somewhere else where they can do quack business."

The CS added that the Ministry will also digitise the healthcare system from a central dashboard that will entail all licensed dentists, physicians, and pharmacies and those operating illegally. 

"The law is very clear, you cannot run a health clinic if you are not licensed by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. We are forming a multi-agency task force and increasing the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council’s budget," Duale noted.

The move comes two weeks after a patient, Amos Isoka, died following complications from a botched tooth extraction after visiting a quack dentist in Kawangware.

Amos Isoka passed away on Wednesday evening at Kenyatta National Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment after developing severe swelling of the neck, tongue and chest.

"Tomorrow morning, I will direct KNH to waive all the bills of our late brother, who was mishandled by the quick doctor. This will be the same way we do when people even go there after being injured during protests or other events," Duale said.

A new regulatory framework known as the “scope of practice” is set to be instituted to ensure medical procedures are undertaken by only trained practitioners.

"Once we launch the Scope of Practice, every health worker will only treat patients based on what they studied in college. No more grey areas," CS Duale noted.

In the meantime, DCI detectives returned to the illegal clinic in Kawangware, searching for evidence that could aid their investigation. 

Among the items seized by police are: laboratory equipment, assorted drugs, and an identification card bearing the name “Lowrence King’atua Kamau.”

A manhunt is underway to apprehend the suspects who are still at large.