NAIROBI – The founder of Mediheal Hospital, Dr. Swarup Mishra, is facing potential criminal charges after an independent investigative committee linked him to an alleged international organ trafficking syndicate.
The 13-member committee, established by the Ministry of Health, handed over its final report to Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Tuesday. The task force has called for immediate investigations and criminal prosecution of Mishra, citing gross irregularities in transplant operations at the hospital.
Covering data from 452 donors and 447 recipients, the three-month investigation found that between 2018 and early 2025, Mediheal conducted 417 donor and 340 recipient procedures. Alarmingly, 75 per cent of patients were male. Of the recipients, 44 per cent were Kenyan nationals, 16.8 per cent were foreigners, and 38 per cent had undocumented nationalities. Top foreign recipients included patients from Israel and Uganda, along with others from Somalia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Germany, and the U.S.
“The committee has told me who to punish, how to fix legislative gaps, and how to address ethical and moral concerns,” CS Duale stated during the report handover.
The report also flagged inconsistencies in donor signatures and suspicious classifications of donor-recipient relationships, including categorisations as “mutual friends.” In a particularly concerning revelation, it was found that one surgeon and one anaesthesiologist performed 24 transplant procedures in just two weeks, raising serious patient safety concerns.
In addition to Mishra, three other doctors have been named in the report for further investigation and possible prosecution.
This development comes amid rising scrutiny over ethical practices in Kenya’s healthcare system and could lead to significant policy reforms in organ transplantation protocols.
