The Kenyan government says it is preparing a new police unit to confront a growing and dangerous problem in the health sector: unlicensed practitioners offering fake medical services.
Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale announced the plan on Sunday, saying the proposed anti-fraud unit would work alongside regulators to shut down illegal clinics and hold impostors to account.
“We will crack the whip, If you are a quack doctor or a healthcare practitioner who is not licensed, you should look for somewhere else to operate,” CS Duale said.
The move follows mounting concern over patient safety, particularly in informal settlements and low-income neighbourhoods, where unregulated clinics often thrive in the absence of affordable care.
The announcement comes just weeks after the death of Amos Isoka, who sought treatment from an unlicensed dentist in Kawangware, a densely populated area of Nairobi.
Mr Isoka later developed severe swelling of the neck, tongue and chest after a tooth extraction. He was admitted to Kenyatta National Hospital, where he died while receiving treatment.
The case sparked public anger and renewed scrutiny of illegal medical practices that continue to operate openly in parts of the country.
Addressing the incident, Duale said the government would waive all hospital bills incurred during Mr Isoka’s treatment.
“This is the same approach we take when citizens are injured during protests or other emergencies,” he said.
Under the proposed plan, the anti-fraud police unit would be deployed with officials from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, the body mandated to license doctors, dentists and clinics.
The ministry also plans to digitise healthcare regulation through a central system that lists all licensed practitioners — and flags those operating illegally.
“The law is very clear,” Mr Duale said. “You cannot run a health clinic without approval from the council.”
He added that a multi-agency task force would be formed and that funding for the regulator would be increased to strengthen inspections and enforcement.
The Health Ministry is also preparing a new regulatory framework known as the “scope of practice”. The policy is intended to clearly define which procedures each category of health worker is trained and authorised to perform.
“Once this is in place, every practitioner will only treat patients based on what they studied. There will be no grey areas.”
Health policy experts have long argued that unclear professional boundaries have allowed abuse to flourish, with some practitioners performing procedures far beyond their training.
Meanwhile, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations have returned to the illegal clinic in Kawangware as part of an ongoing inquiry.
Police say they recovered laboratory equipment, assorted drugs and an identification card bearing the name “Lowrence King’atua Kamau”. Suspects linked to the facility remain at large, and a manhunt is under way.
While the government’s latest announcement has been welcomed by many, some health advocates caution that enforcement alone will not solve the problem.
They argue that high medical costs, staff shortages and overcrowded public hospitals continue to push patients toward unlicensed providers.
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