Kilifi, Mombasa governors step up efforts to curb drug theft

Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung’aro has set up a special unit to crack down on the theft of drugs from public hospitals. [File, Standard]

Governors Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi) and Abdulswamad Nassir (Mombasa) are grappling with rising cases of theft of drugs and non-pharmaceuticals from public hospitals.

On Tuesday, Mung’aro announced the establishment of a special unit to crack down on theft of drugs from public hospitals, to end the acute shortage of essential drugs.

Mung’aro said the unit will comprise the public, police, and county enforcement officers and will be mandated to investigate the drug theft and arrest any suspects.

He said Kilifi county spends more than Sh300 million to purchase drugs but a cartel comprising county officials steals the same leaving patients to suffer.

“We can’t be spending more than Sh300 million to procure medical drugs then residents continue to complain about lack of drugs,” the governor said.

“Thieves cannot steal from us, supply their shops and pharmacies, and expect us to buy what they stole from us,” he added saying that police apprehended two suspects linked to the syndicate.

Police arrested two Kilifi County Health Department officials on Saturday for allegedly stealing drugs from Bamba public hospital in Ganze Constituency.

Police were to be arraigned in court on Monday. Kilifi County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for health Peter Mwarogo said that authorities recovered the stolen drugs from private drugstores in the area.

“A good Samaritan saw drug loaded into a vehicle and raised alarm. We informed the police, who arrested the two, a driver and a staff from the Health Department,” Mwarogo said.

He noted that the drugs worth Sh100,000 would have served the people of Bamba for more than a month.

Kilifi North Sub-County Police Commander Kenneth Maina commended the public for reporting the incident.

“First, we thank the public for reporting this information. The drugs were to be transported out of the public hospital,” said Maina.

In Mombasa, Governor Nassir has said that all pharmacies operating next to public hospitals in Mombasa will lose their business permits as the county intensifies efforts to curb theft of medicine.

The governor accused some county staff of colluding with private medical stores to deny patients free medicine.

“It is criminal. We will not be renewing licenses of all the pharmacies selling drugs outside county hospitals,” Nassir told Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital (CGTRH) Chief Executive Officer Iqbal Khandwalla.

The governor noted that nearly 10 pharmacies operate outside the referral hospital.

“I was at CGTRH, and I saw almost 10 pharmacies outside, meaning their business is thriving in a public facility. If you go to Likoni Hospital, you will find a pharmacy there. I have first-hand experience with these things. I went to Likoni hospital with a CEC and Mishi Mboko and the patients were told to buy drugs, and when we checked at the cabinets there were drugs,” said Nassir.

He said that with digitisation, pharmacies must explain why they claim there are no drugs when the system shows they are in stock.

“I have bought drugs worth Sh153 million, yet the taxpayers cannot get the drugs. It is not right,” said the governor who has vowed to dismantle the cartel behind the theft of essential drugs from hospitals.

Meanwhile, civil societies in Mombasa are also demanding audit of public hospitals to root out corruption. They also want pharmacies near public hospitals investigated to establish if hospital staff used them as conduits for drugs stolen from public health facilities.