Kuria criticises Duale over threat to deport Mishra over Mediheal organ harvesting scam

Former President William Ruto’s senior economic advisor, Moses Kuria, has told off Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale over his threat to deport Mediheal Hospital chairman and founder Mishra Swarup over his alleged involvement in organ harvesting and trade.

According to the former Cabinet Secretary, the threats issued by Duale, whose mandate does not include the immigration service, carries the risk of scaring away potential investors.

“When a senior government official who is not in charge of immigration says we will cancel citizenship and deport so and so, do we ponder to think what investors will think of our country? Are we that unorthodox? What of investors’ confidence? What of due process?” Kuria posed on social media.

The former Gatundu South MP warned that many Kenyans could be rendered jobless if some investors are chased out of the country.

“What of our credit rating? At this rate, from where shall we get jobs for these children of ours? Gracious Lord, hear us,” he stated.

The remarks by Kuria come after Duale threatened to revoke Mishra’s Kenyan Citizenship, deport him back to India and shut down his facilities if Parliament adopts a task force report implicating him in an alleged organ trafficking scheme.

Duale accused Mishra of fostering a culture of impunity in Mediheal hospitals.

“You cannot come to our country 20 years ago with a bag, you make money, you sell our organs, you become a Member of Parliament, you develop a culture of impunity, you hire lawyers, and when you’re pursued, you threaten us? If it means us revoking that citizenship because your citizenship is not by birth, we will revoke the citizenship, we will close your hospital, and deport you,” Duale said.

A 13-member task force he (Duale) appointed submitted a damning report last month, which traced 417 out of 452 donor files to Mediheal Hospital in Eldoret.

The figure represented over 80 per cent of all organ donors investigated and raised serious concerns about the legality and ethics of the hospital’s transplant procedures.

The task force recommended the criminal prosecution of Mishra and three transplant specialists for allegedly violating the Citizenship and Immigration Act, along with Kenya’s transplant and medical regulations.

However, in his response, Mishra denied the allegations by strongly denying any wrongdoing.

He maintained that the foreign recipients brought their donors and that the hospital was not involved in any illegal or exploitative transactions.

“Organ transplant means that one is taking money from the recipient and soliciting the donor while paying him. We were never involved in such a process, and I request that the committee should have been on a mission of fact finding, not fault finding,” Mishra said.

According to Mishra, the 476 surgeries were conducted within the law, and the accusations were politically motivated or based on misinformation.

“There is no foreigner who came into the country and left with a kidney of a Kenyan; all the foreigners who were operated on came with their donors from their country. The way forward is very simple, if Mishra and Mediheal are culprits, let them carry the cross, but if we are truly innocent, then let us get justice,” he stated.