The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters has taken over the case where Mediheal Hospital is implicated in the trafficking of human organs harvested at its Fertility and Transplant Centre in Eldoret. 

Head of DCI Mohammed Amin has said, though a number of such cases had been reported in various police stations and DCI offices across the North Rift region, the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) has taken the investigations, and will harmonise all reports and statements previously recorded. 

They are also expected to record fresh statements from victims, suspects and anyone with relevant information, as well as employ forensic analysis for a painstaking probe. 

The DCI boss called on any persons, victims or otherwise, who may have information that could help in the probe to record their statements with the Head of TOCU at the offices held at DCI Headquarters, Block B. 

The hospital, which has denied the claims, was last week closed as the probe into the claims gather pace.  

Organ transplant services 

It is one of East Africa’s leading private healthcare providers and has been offering organ transplant services for over a decade. However, scrutiny intensified over the past two years amid growing unease about transplant procedures at its Eldoret facility. 

The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health also launched a comprehensive 80-day public inquiry into allegations of unethical kidney transplant procedures at the facility. 

The move follows mounting public concern and a recent exposé implicating the hospital in possible breaches of professional ethics, transplant tourism, and the commercialisation of organ donations. 

The probe comes in the wake of a series of damning claims by the Kenya Renal Association (KRA), which in a statement dated May 3, 2024, raised red flags over a growing trend of organ trade involving vulnerable donors and foreign recipients at the private hospital. 

Ethical standards 

The statement cited testimonies suggesting coercion, lack of proper informed consent, and inducements to donors, in direct contravention of both Kenyan law and global ethical standards on organ transplants. 

Seme MP Dr James Nyikal, who chairs the committee, said the inquiry aims to examine the legality, ethical compliance, and oversight of kidney transplant services at Mediheal, and to recommend necessary legal or policy reforms to safeguard the integrity of the country’s healthcare system. 

“This is a serious matter that touches on the dignity of life and the reputation of Kenya’s medical profession. We intend to get to the bottom of it,” Dr. Nyikal said. 

He added, “We are going to ask critical questions. Were the procedures at Mediheal in line with the Health Act and Human Tissue Act? Was there evidence of organ commercialisation? Were donors fully informed, or were they deceived or coerced into donating?” 

The allegations suggest the hospital may have become a hub for so-called “transplant tourism”—a practice where foreign patients receive organs from local donors under questionable ethical and legal circumstances. 

The committee will also investigate the role of foreign nationals, both as transplant recipients and as part of the hospital’s medical team. 

Questions have arisen over whether proper immigration and licensing procedures were followed for foreign doctors, and whether recipient-donor relationships, especially in cross-border cases, were thoroughly vetted. 

“The DCI remains committed to conducting investigations with utmost professionalism, with a view to delivering timely justice to both victims and perpetrators of crime,” Amin said.