A special investigation by Deutsche Welle, German media ZDF, and ‘Der Spiegel’ has revealed that Kenya is at the centre of an international organ trafficking syndicate.
According to the investigative piece, recipients pay up to $200,000 (Ksh25.9 million) for an organ transplant, with a hospital in Eldoret the alleged site of conducting the transplant operations.
The research, spanning from the hospital in Kenya to a shadowy agency that attracted organ recipients from Germany, exploited vulnerable people at both ends. The young, desperate for money, and the old, desperate for a life-saving organ.
In one of the cases, a young Kenyan man was paid $4,000 (Ksh518,120) to donate his kidney, albeit under unscrupulous circumstances. While speaking to the media houses, the man revealed that he was introduced to a middleman who arranged transport to the hospital, where he was given documents in English, a language he does not understand, to sign.
However, the man was not informed of the health risks and consequently developed health complications after the operation. Complications include trouble walking and acute back pain, hindering his ability to perform mechanical duties.
DW’s investigation revealed that the international network that coordinates the operations finds local donors through paid referrals, while in some cases, the donors are allegedly flown from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan.
Despite restrictions in foreign countries on donating organs, the ring has exploited a legal loophole in Kenya on organ donation where no law prevents one from donating his/her kidney for money, as one cannot be prosecuted for it.
Consequently, to circumvent local laws and long waiting lists, people from Germany, Israel, Russia, and Somalia travel to Kenya for organ transplants with doctors flown in from India to perform the procedures.
Sources told DW that donors were asked to sign documents stating they were relatives to recipients they never met and consenting to a kidney removal without being informed about potential health risks, while some of them were not even old enough.
In the beginning, organ recipients initially came from Somalia, but in 2022, recipients started to come from Israel and, as of 2024, from Germany. The influx of Israelis and Germans resulted in a booming business, with recipients paying tens of millions to get organs.
A German medical agency in charge of acquiring international donors and recipients has denied any involvement, reiterating that their process was done within the confines of the law. Contrastingly, the agency is allegedly run by an Israeli who has previously faced indictment by an Israeli court over illegal kidney transplants in various foreign countries.
The report by DW also disclosed that despite the alarm raised by local health administrators in Kenya, no action has ever been taken on the hospital behind the transplants. The owner is said to have powerful connections yielding significant influence with the who's who in Kenya.
A report done on the hospital a few years ago was never made public. Even so, when contacted for a comment by foreign press agencies, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale hinted that action would be taken against the hospital if the allegations on the hospital’s conduct are substantiated.
Illegal organ trafficking in Kenya attracts a punishment of up to ten years imprisonment and/or a Ksh10 million fine. Trafficking persons for organ trafficking can result in over 30 years to life imprisonment and/or a Ksh30 million fine.
