The Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, and other top security officials will be summoned by the National Assembly Health Committee chaired by Endebess MP Robert Pukose over reports of illegal organ harvesting in Eldoret.
This follows concerns raised by Nandi Hills MP Benard Kitur, who on Thursday claimed that unsuspecting individuals are being lured by some hospitals to donate their organs, especially kidneys, at a fee only to die due to what he describes as medical complications.
“In June 2024, a distressing case was reported to me by a mother
whose son was lured with an offer to donate his kidney at a fee of Sh600,000,’’
he revealed.
“He developed medical complications associated with organ harvesting. This incident was reported to Langas Police Station. This is just one among many cases of illegal organ harvesting by a syndicate.’’
According to the MP, multiple reports have linked a medical facility in the city with illegal kidney transplants, organ trafficking raising significant concerns about possible collisions between the hospital and criminal gangs.
“The committee will have to do investigations and will also look at the law because there is a lacuna in the law as far as organ transplant is concerned,” Pukose stated.
“These are very serious allegations, and the public must also be concerned when you talk about people harvesting organs from unsuspecting Kenyans,” he added.
“We will call the IG and also go to the Langas Police Station where the matter was reported and find out what they have done. We will also seek information from members of the public on such cases,” Pukese said.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking for organ removal is a form of trafficking in which individuals are exploited for organs.
Although victims often appear to have consented to the removal of their organs, their consent is invalid when deception, fraud, or abuse of a position of vulnerability is involved. In such cases, they are considered victims of human trafficking.
The traffickers, who are usually part of sophisticated criminal networks, profit by selling these organs to recipients who are unable or unwilling to wait for legal transplants.