This archive report was first published on 9 July 2020.
On July 8, 2020, Dr. Ashoke Singh Matharu, a Director of Lang'ata Hospital, was charged with stocking unvalidated and expired laboratory reagents. The alleged offense took place at Langata Hospital in Nairobi.
Dr. Matharu was arraigned in court alongside three other hospital officials: Muffadal Ammar HassamJee (operations manager), Herbert Cheruiyot Charles (lab technician), and Beatrice Awino (lab technician). They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the allegations, the four were found stocking expired medical laboratory reagents, including bilirubin (T), combi 35, Ast Got, Actone, Area Bun/UV, Magnesium, Trigs, Excel, Labsystems, and Bsa Accurate. They also face a second charge of using unvalidated laboratory reagents contrary to regulations required by law.
Dr. Matharu and Ammar were released on a cash bail of Ksh. 100,000 shillings each, while Cheruiyot and Awino were freed on Ksh. 50,000 cash bail each. The case will be mentioned on August 5, 2020, for further direction.
