President Ruto suspends Mediheal Hospital founder Swarup Mishra as Kenya BioVax Institute boss

President William Ruto has suspended former Kesses Member of Parliament Dr. Swarup Mishra as the chair of the Kenya BioVax Institute.

This comes as Mediheal Hospital, which was founded by Dr. Mishra, is under investigation for alleged involvement in malpractice and ethical breaches in kidney transplant services.

The hospital is currently under probe for allegedly harvesting kidneys from poor Kenyans who are reportedly paid Ksh.294,000 and then selling them to recipients in foreign countries for upto Ksh.3.2 million each. 

“President William Ruto has today suspended, with immediate effect, Dr Swarup Mishra as chair of the Kenya BioVax Institute,” State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed said in a statement to newsrooms on Friday.

“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 hospital was founded by Dr Mishra.”

Mohamed added: “The President reaffirms the Government's commitment to fighting corruption, including upholding integrity in healthcare, public safety, and justice for victims.”

A government-led investigation into Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret unearthed serious gaps in the facility’s kidney transplant program, raising fresh concerns about possible organ trafficking involving foreign nationals.

This came after a detailed fact-finding mission by a multidisciplinary team appointed by the Ministry of Health, following an alert from the global Transplantation Society.

The Society’s letter, dated July 20, 2023, flagged a suspicious spike in kidney transplants involving Israeli nationals in Kenya, suggesting the existence of an international syndicate bypassing local health regulations.

The team - composed of transplant specialists, ethicists, officials from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), the Kenya Blood Transfusion and Transplant Services (KBTTS), and health ministry representatives - carried out an on-site audit from December 5 to 8, 2023.

Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Thursday suspended two senior ministry officials for their alleged involvement in the alleged malpractice and ethical breaches at Mediheal Hospital.

CS Duale directed the immediate suspension of Dr. Maurice Wakwabubi, acting KBTTS boss and Dr. Everlyne Chege, the technical lead who chaired the probe team. 

He cited that this would eliminate potential conflicts of interest during the ongoing investigations. 

The CS appointed Dr. Martin Sirengo, senior Deputy Director of Medical Services, to take the helm of KBTTS in the interim period.   

Further, Duale suspended all kidney transplant services at the hospital until further notice to investigate the claims.

He redirected all patients seeking transplant-related services to attend any of the eight licensed kidney transplant facilities.

These include Kenyatta National Hospital, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital, MP Shah Hospital, Nairobi Hospital, St Luke's Hospital-Eldoret, Nairobi West Hospital and Mater Hospital. 

To effectively conduct the investigations, CS Duale appointed an independent committee of transplant experts to conduct a comprehensive audit of all kidney transplant services at the hospital for the past five years. 

The committee is expected to submit a report within 90 days, citing that the previous probe team in 2023 declined to formally submit their findings to the Ministry.