Operating illegal clinic earns Mugo wa Wairimu 11 years in prison

Mugo wa Wairimu in the dock at a Milimani court.  He has been fined and handed 11 years jail term for running medical facilities illegally.  [File, Standard]

Fake doctor James Mugo alias Mugo wa Wairimu has been sentenced to 11 years in jail for operating an unlicensed clinic.

Nairobi Resident Magistrate Martha Nanzushi yesterday found Mugo guilty of all the six counts brought against him. 

“The accused is convicted on his own plea of guilt and will suffer the consequences of his actions as provided in the law. I am satisfied that the case has been proved as per the facts presented by the prosecution,” ruled Nanzushi.

The judgement marked the end of the road for the man who operated a clinic in Nairobi offering medicare to women. However, the magistrate gave Mugo an option of paying a fine of Sh1,420,000.

The fake doctor came to the public limelight in 2014 when a video clip of a man sexually abusing a sedated woman in his clinic surfaced online.

Mugo had been operating a clinic in Kayole, without registration and licence from the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board, when he was busted and arrested on November 3, 2018.

According to the prosecution, officers from the medical board raided Mugo’s clinic dubbed Millan Health International and found him with two employees purporting to be a pharmacist, laboratory technician and a nurse.

In count one, Mugo was found guilty of unlawfully operating a pharmacy without registration by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board and operating Millan Health International in Kayole without a licence.

For this offence, the magistrate sentenced him to two years in jail or pay a fine of Sh20,000.

The fake doctor was condemned to another two years in jail or pay a fine of Sh200,000 for operating a pharmacy in a premise not registered by the pharmacists board.

Without registration

Count three stated that he operated a medical laboratory without registration and licence by the Kenya Medical Laboratory Technicians and Technologists Board.

Nanzushi found him guilty of this count and ordered him to pay a fine of Sh50,000 failure to which he serves nine months in jail.

The magistrate also found him guilty of count four where he was accused of operating a clinic without registration and licence by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board.

“On November 3, 2018 at Millan Health International in Kayole within Nairobi County, he was found operating a medical clinic namely Millan Health International Clinic without registration and licence by the Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board,” said the magistrate.

As a result of operating the clinic without a licence, the magistrate sentenced Mugo to three years in jail or alternatively pay a fine of Sh500,000.

The fake doctor faced another charge of practising as a nurse without registration by the Nursing Council to which he was fined Sh150,000 or serve six months in jail.

He was sentenced to three years or a fine of Sh500,000 for willfully and falsely presenting himself to the medical board inspectors as a qualified medic to operate Millan Health International.

In mitigation, Mugo pleaded with the court for a lenient sentence, saying he has reformed since he was arrested for operating the illegal clinic.

The magistrate said the sentences will run concurrently, which means he will only serve three years if he fails to raise the fine.