On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, Nairobi County officials told the assembly that hundreds of private clinics in the capital were operating without the paperwork required to offer medical services.
A report from the County Public Health Department said Nairobi had 2,315 private clinics, but only 1,500 had been licensed and cleared through inspection. That left more than a third — about 800 facilities — outside the county’s permit system.
Jesca Omai, the county’s clinical inspection coordinator, presented the findings to the Health Services committee chaired by Roysambu Ward Representative Peter Warutere. The committee pressed her to explain how the unlicensed clinics had continued operating and whether residents were receiving proper treatment.
Omai said the August mapping exercise carried out last year had identified the gap in compliance. She added that the county was not the only authority involved in licensing private health facilities, noting that the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, the Nursing Council of Kenya and the Clinical Officers Council also play regulatory roles.
According to her, a clinic must first undergo inspection by county officers before opening in Nairobi. She said operations should stop where that inspection has not happened, but complained that the national regulatory boards rarely involve county officials in routine checks.
“The department normally receives applications from people who want to start clinics in the capital city but it is not the only body that can license them,” she said.
“We have regulatory bodies which are different. The overall one is the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board. Nursing councils can also license their own people.”
Omai told the committee that the county planned to shut down unlicensed facilities and step up random inspections and supervision. She also said the department had received a compliance officer from the medical board to strengthen enforcement.
The county singled out Milan Health International, a private clinic linked to quack doctor James Mugo Ndicho, also known as Mugo Wa Wairimu, saying it had neither a business permit nor a City Hall licence. Officials said public health inspectors were denied entry during one routine visit and later found the facility closed when they returned to check compliance.
“No licence was given to Milan International and we have never met Mr Mugo in the clinic. The applicant was Elijah Mathiai and the documents presented were for a nurse who was allowed to practice.”
Mugo, who is accused of running an illegal clinic in Kayole and sexually assaulting a sedated patient while posing as a medical doctor, was arrested by Flying Squad officers in Gachie, Kiambu County, after a two-week search.
