National Assembly Departmental Committee on Health — Mediheal Probe
Dr. James Nyikal, Seme MP — chaired the committee throughout the inquiry.
Key Members: Hon. Ntwiga Patrick Munene, Hon. Maingi Mary, Hon. Muge Cynthia Jepkosgei, Hon. Reuben Kiborek, Hon. Wanyonyi Martin Pepela, Hon. Mathenge Duncan Maina, Hon. Lenguris Pauline, Hon. Oron Joshua Odongo, Hon. Martin Peters Owino, Hon. (Dr.) Pukose Robert, and Hon. Kibagendi Antoney
How the Probe Was Triggered
The inquiry followed a special investigation by Deutsche Welle, German media ZDF, and Der Spiegel that revealed Kenya was at the centre of an international organ trafficking syndicate, implicating Mediheal as the hospital where illegal transplants were conducted — with recipients paying up to $200,000 (about Ksh25.9 million) per transplant.
Mandate & Timeline
The committee launched an 80-day inquiry beginning April 22, 2025. Dr. Nyikal described the matter as serious, touching on the dignity of life and the integrity of Kenya’s medical profession.
Key Findings
The probe found that Mediheal conducted 476 kidney transplants between 2018 and March 2025. All specialist healthcare personnel involved were foreign nationals. Some 47% of patients served were non-Kenyans, with Israeli nationals making up the largest group of foreign recipients at 62 patients. Azerbaijani nationals made up the majority of donors at 50 individuals, with 25 Israeli recipients matched with Azerbaijani donors — pointing to a significant cross-border trafficking dimension.
Legal Gap Finding
The committee observed that Kenya lacks a national organ and tissue transplant policy, and that both the Health Act and Human Tissue Act lack adequate provisions to govern transplant services, making effective oversight impossible.
Report “Sanitised”
On April 15, 2026, the committee tabled a report that — despite a damning 314-page independent government investigation, testimonies from mutilated young men from Oyugis and Eldoret, findings of three major German media houses, and condemnation by Kenya’s own Kenya Renal Association — recommended that all sanctions on Mediheal be lifted immediately (save for the transplant licence) and that the institution be rehabilitated.
The Clerk at the Centre
Principal Clerk Assistant II Adan Sora Gindicha, head of the Health Committee’s parliamentary secretariat, is credited as the nerve centre of the secretariat that steered the report from its first public hearing to its final page. He has not responded to questions about his role, and his superiors at Parliament have declined to comment.