The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) is turning up the heat on the Ministry of Health and security agencies following explosive claims of organ trafficking at Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret.
The scandal, now rocking the medical community and sending shockwaves across the country, has put Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale under immense pressure.
Victims say their lives are in danger after speaking out, and LSK wants heads to roll.
This is not just about illegal surgeries—it’s about a system that may have allowed human lives to be exploited for profit. Kenya cannot afford to let this slide.
Victims Under Threat as LSK Turns the Spotlight on Security Gaps
The LSK has demanded urgent protection for victims who exposed the alleged Mediheal organ trafficking network.
These individuals claim they are now being followed and threatened by unknown people, likely in retaliation for speaking to the press. On April 24, LSK President Faith Odhiambo sounded the alarm.
Odhiambo urged the National Police Service (NPS) and the Victims Protection Board to guarantee the safety of these whistleblowers. She emphasized that those issuing threats must be arrested and prosecuted.
“We are alarmed by the threats targeting victims and witnesses. The police must act swiftly,” said Odhiambo.
Several victims spoke to journalists earlier that week, saying they fear for their lives. Their testimonies have painted a disturbing picture—one where kidneys and other organs may have been removed without proper consent or sold to desperate foreigners under the radar.
LSK now wants not just protection for the victims, but a wider crackdown on everyone involved in this alleged criminal ring.
Call for Transparency – Duale, DCI, and Medical Regulators on the Spot
The Mediheal scandal has also exposed loopholes in the regulation of organ transplants in Kenya. LSK is demanding that the Ministry of Health take full responsibility and ensure transparency in the ongoing investigations.
LSK welcomed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) decision to lead the probe, but said the agency must handle the matter with absolute diligence.
Odhiambo also criticized the limited approach taken by the ministry, particularly in setting up a closed-door committee to investigate the matter.
She wants the DCI to collaborate with external bodies like the LSK and civil society organizations to guarantee impartial investigations.
“This is a national scandal. We cannot allow secret investigations while victims fear for their lives,” she warned.
In addition to supporting the probe, LSK wants laws updated to strictly govern organ transplant procedures in Kenya.
The lack of robust guidelines, they argue, has created a grey area that may have enabled the illegal organ trade to flourish.
A National Crisis? Foreign Doctors and Transplant Tourism
Another angle causing deep concern is the involvement of foreign medical professionals. Mediheal has long attracted patients from across East Africa and beyond, raising fears of “transplant tourism”—where organs are transplanted illegally or unethically to paying foreign clients.
LSK has called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) to stop licensing foreign doctors without thorough vetting.
“Kenya must not become a dumping ground for rogue doctors evading scrutiny in their own countries,” said Odhiambo.
The LSK believes weak enforcement has allowed unqualified or unethical foreign practitioners to conduct surgeries with little oversight. They are urging the KMPDC to investigate Mediheal’s internal practices and the background of all doctors who performed transplants there.
This comes just as the National Assembly’s Health Committee, chaired by MP James Nyikal, begins an 80-day investigation into organ transplant regulation in Kenya. The inquiry will focus on kidney transplants, foreign involvement, and the unchecked rise of private hospital malpractice.
Why the Mediheal Organ Trafficking Scandal Must Not Be Buried
This scandal is more than just bad press for a private hospital—it’s a wake-up call. Kenya’s medical system risks losing its integrity if these allegations go unpunished. Victims of the Mediheal organ trafficking scandal deserve justice, not silence. Regulatory bodies must act, not deflect.
If foreign patients are coming to Kenya for illicit surgeries, then our country is enabling a global crime. If threats against whistleblowers go ignored, then we are complicit in silencing truth.
The LSK has set the tone. Now it’s time for CS Duale, the police, and medical regulators to prove they can rise to the occasion.
