Claims of sabotage have rocked an MPs’ investigation into alleged organs trade.
The National Assembly’s public inquiry into alleged malpractice and ethical breaches in kidney transplants at the Mediheal Group of Hospitals has stalled.
Since the Health committee opened the probe on April 22, it has only interviewed one witness and its 90-day term lapsed this week.
Initiated following whistleblower reports and media exposés, at the heart of the inquiry are claims of unethical organs harvesting amid questions about the donors and recipients of the organs transplanted during surgeries at Mediheal’s facilities in Nairobi and Eldoret.
An investigation initiated following public concerns about suspect kidney transplants has in recent weeks been marred by cancelled sittings, prolonged adjournments and a conspicuous silence from lawmakers who had earlier vowed to get to the bottom of the matter.
Scheduled appearances by multiple key witnesses, including hospital representatives, have either been postponed indefinitely or quietly removed from the committee’s programme.
On June 19, the committee sent out a media invite announcing a meeting with officials of the Kenya Tissue Transplant Authority. The meeting was, however, postponed and no reason given for the change.
Earlier, on June 10, the committee had scheduled a meeting with representatives of the Kenya Renal Association (KRA).
The failure by officials of the agencies to appear has crippled the committee, which has only met with the petitioner-Nandi Hill MP Benard Kitur. Mr Kitur testified on June 5.
Sources within the committee told the Daily Nation that the initial political goodwill for the inquiry has since waned explaining why the team has slowed down.
The committee chairman James Nyikal did not answer our call or respond to a text message sent to his known number regarding the status of the inquiry.
Legal and ethical integrity
"We are going to assess the legal and ethical integrity of transplant processes that are going on at Mediheal," he had said.
However, Ndhiwa MP Martin Owino, who is a member of the committee, told the Daily Nation the investigation is still on.
“The inquiry is still on. We are just waiting for the report from the ministry then we corroborate because they are also doing their own investigations,” Mr Owino said.
Mr Owino was referring to the report by the Independent Investigative Committee on Tissue and Organ Transplant Services which was set up by Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale.
Mr Duale pointed out some of the recommendations by the committee on Tuesday while appearing on Citizen TV.
The report recommends an investigation against Dr Swarup Mishra, founder and owner of Mediheal Group of Hospitals, for suspect kidney transplants at the facility.
According to the report, data covering 452 donors and 447 recipients across multiple institutions, revealed that 417 files originated from Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret, accounting for approximately 81 percent of all donors and 76 percent of all recipients.
The report shows that between 2018 and March 2025, Mediheal Hospital handled 417 donors and 340 recipients, with male patients making up three out of every four cases.
The report shows that 44 percent of recipients are residents, 16 percent are non-Kenyan, and a notable 38.94 percent have an unknown status, indicating possible gaps in documentation or lack of identification documents in the patient record.
"I want to assure you that the report will not find itself on the shelves. It will be implemented. I will take it to Parliament and Cabinet,” Mr Duale said.
