Two men arrested selling fake Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Kasarani arraigned

Two suspects who impersonated medical doctors and administered what is believed to be fake Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 jabs will now spend five nights in police custody.

Milimani Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Synkian Tobiko directed that the two suspects; Wallace Mugendi and Kenneth Mukundi, be detained at Kasarani Police Station.

The suspects were arrested on Tuesday at Crane Hospital along Lumumba Drive, Kasarani where they administered fake vaccine to unsuspecting clients at Ksh.3000 a jab.

The accused persons were to answer to charges of administering fake Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines. The illegal vaccination occurred on diverse dates between the month of July and August 2021 and was reported on September 7, 2021.

Corporal Kapario Lekakeny, the investigating officer from the Kasarani Directorate of Criminal Investigations told the court, they had received more than 10 complaints from unsuspecting clients who had received the fake jabs each being charged at Ksh.3000.

He further requested the court to detain the two for five days to complete investigations. The two suspects did not object to the request by the prosecution to hold them for the period.

On August 30th, the Ministry of Health put on notice institutions and health workers moving vaccines to unauthorized centres and demanding payment for vaccination, saying they were putting the lives of Kenyans at risk since most lacked the required storage facilities.

The suspects will be detained at Kasarani police station until Tuesday, September 14, when they are set to appear in court.