Dr Peter Murugu of Murugu Natural and Nutritional Clinic has been a household name in Kenya for over two decades. His name is known across Kenya thanks to his “healing prowess”.
He claims to cure all sorts of diseases including cancer. He has banked on this narrative for many years and continued to con patients their hard earned money.
He mainly advertises his clinic on radio stations and currently going big on social media where he traps unsuspecting members of the public.
So far, no one has dared to expose him. He seems to have compromised both investigative agencies and the media.
Most of his clientele are rural-based. This makes it easier for him to play his con game.
A patient who has been using his “medicine” revealed to The Informer that despite using it for the past six months, there have been no changes in his health condition. Murugu and his employees continue to promise him that things will get better.
“This Dr Murugu claims to cure everything in few weeks, even cancer? Is he for real or a conman masquarading as a herbalist?” Oscar Gathii poses.
Shockingly, his products do not have KEBS stickers and he is operating unabated.
Recently, the war on counterfeits received a big boost with the launch of a new secured standardisation mark.
Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed said the new Import Standardisation Mark (ISM) launched by Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) had come at a time when the country was grappling with the influx of substandard and unsafe goods partly contributed by flaws in the previous mark.
The new mark comes with a bar code encrypted with details of the product and certification status as well as a serial number to be used for validation through Kebs SMS platform.
Importers can acquire the improved standardisation mark by submitting an application form plus copies of Certificate of Conformity, Import Declaration and Customs Entry forms together with an application fee of 49 cents.
Kebs managing director Charles Ongwae said the new sticker had marked the beginning of a process that will see all other marks digitised, adding that only products certified by Kebs under the Diamond Mark of Quality scheme are exempted from mandatory application of ISM.
Despite this, Murugu products do not have any KEBS labels and stickers at all. He seems to be selling concoctions in the name of medicine thus endangering human lives.
He claims most of his products are herbal in nature which no one can verify. The law regulating the use of herbal medicine in Kenya is not operational yet.
Nearly two years since the Ministry of Health was directed to promote safe use of herbal medicines, this has not happened yet.
On June 30, 2017, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the Health Act 2017, which directed formation of a body to regulate the practice of alternative medicine in Kenya. The law had directed the Ministry of Health to work with Parliament for establishment of a body to regulate alternative medicines.
The body, the law said, would ensure Kenya enjoyed benefits of alternative medicines while being protected against any dangerous products or practices.
“The Ministry of Health shall develop policy guidelines for referral mechanisms from practitioners of traditional and alternative medicine to conventional health facilities,” directs the law.
The fight for the regulation and official recognition of alternative medicine in Kenya has been going on for almost two decades. The first formal efforts were made in 2002 by the then Minister for Health Dr Sam Ongeri, who suggested that traditional healers be incorporated in the national healthcare system.
Non-implementation of the law has given a leeway to con herbal doctors like Murugu to operate without any fear.
He capitalises on common problems like cancer, weight issues, libido problems among many others.
“With 20k, Dr. Murugu can make your soft erection harden like those Kakamega stones…with an additional 17k, instead of ejaculating after 3 seconds like most Jubilee supporters, Murugu has the capacity of making you last for hours like a python. I’ve seen conmen in Jubilee but this guy is the apex predator. A con. A fraud. He even cures cancer in a week,” Omogambi Nyachae says.