A fake doctor who had been operating unlicensed medical facilities within Kayole in Nairobi has been jailed for 11 years and five months.
James Mugo Ndichu alias Mugo wa Wairimu alias Dr Jimmy was handed down the harsh sentence by Milimani Law Courts principal magistrate Ms Sarah Nanzushi for operating a clinic in Kayole despite not having a licence to do so.
He hit the headlines years ago after female patients reported that Mugo had sexually abused them while seeking medical treatment at his clinic.
Besides the case in which he was convicted and sentenced, there is a pending rape case against him at the Milimani Law Courts.
Ms Nanzushi gave Mugo an alternative fine of Sh1,420,000 after he admitted six counts of operating an unlicensed private medical facility in contravention of the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board (KMPDB), Pharmacy and Poisons Board and the Nurses Act.
Presenting evidence, after Mugo changed plea to admit the charges against him, state prosecutor James Machira said the accused was arrested after intelligence reports that he was operating an unlicensed private clinic in Kayole.
Mr Machira said a contingent from the disbanded Flying Squad Unit, under the command of Mr John Njoroge, in November raided Millan Health International Clinic in Kayole Nairobi County, where they found Mugo and two others.
James Mugo Ndichu alias Mugo wa Wairimu alias Dr Jimmy when he appeared before the Milimani Law Courts Principal Magistrate Ms Sarah Nanzushi on October 28, 2020.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation Media Group
The police, who were in the company of the chief executive officer of KMPDB, Dr Daniel Yumbya, demanded the relevant licences for operating the private facility but they had none.
“Mugo identified himself as Dr Jimmy to Dr Yumbya, the CEO of KMPBD, when he knew he was not qualified to be a medical doctor,” Mr Machira told the magistrate while presenting evidence.
Mr Machira said Mugo was not a licensed pharmacist yet he was operating a pharmacy at his Millan Health International Clinic.
He was also operating a laboratory without a licence from the Kenya Laboratories Technician and Technology Board (KLTTB).
Mugo was also accused of holding himself as a nurse contrary to the Nurses Act and operating a medical clinic without a licence from the Medical and Practitioners and Dentists Board.
In addition, he was accused of operating a pharmacy in a building which was not authorized under the law.
Mr Machira asked the magistrate to treat the accused as a first offender and to mete out a severe sentence as the business he was operating posed a great danger to the general public.
In her judgment and sentence, Ms Nanzushi factored in the fact that the accused was a first offender.
“You are convicted on your own plea of guilty,” Ms Nanzushi held.
She asked him to mitigate before sentence, then he asked the court to exercise leniency given that he has been in custody for the last two years.
In her judgment the magistrate noted that the accused carried out a business that risked lives when he knew he lacked the requisite training.
She said the clinic posed great danger to unsuspecting innocent Kenyans who sought health services from him.
Ms Nanzushi fined Mugo Sh20,000 or serve two years in default for the offence of carrying out the business of pharmacy without a licence from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
For carrying out the business of a pharmacy in an unlicensed premises, he was fined Sh200,000 or serve two years in default.
Mugo will pay a fine of Sh90,000 for operating a laboratory without a licence from KLTTB or serve nine months.
The fake doctor will pay a fine of Sh500,000 or serve three years in jail for operating a medical clinic without a licence.
Mugo was fined Sh150,000 or serve six months for operating as a nurse contrary to the Nurses Act.
For irregularly practicing as a doctor, the accused was fined Sh500,000 or serve three years in jail in default.
According to the prosecutor, on November 1, 2014, at Prestige Healthcare Clinic in Nairobi, Mugo raped a woman after giving her four tablets of an unknown drug
He was charged alongside his two employees Victor Gathiru Kamunya alias Dr Victor and Risper Auma Ogony. Their case is still pending.
