The Kenya Medical Supplies Agency has denied responsibility for the expired drugs and other medical supplies seized in Nairobi last month.
The seizure of the expired drugs sparked fears of unsafe medication in the market.
Fredrick Wanyonyi, the agency’s acting chief executive officer, said only two of the 40 items impounded at a house in Parklands on February 20 belong to Kemsa.
The two were latex gloves and x-ray films valued at a combined Sh288,295.
“From the list of seized items, Kemsa did not issue medicines, drugs or pharmaceuticals,” said Mr Wanyonyi in a statement Wednesday evening.
He said the gloves and the x-ray films were given out to assist Enzaro and Inyali health centres in Vihiga County as part of Kemsa’s corporate social responsibility.
The Kemsa boss also attached documents he said were proof to the institution that the organisation was going to conduct the medical camp through a health facility.
When the police and staff from the Pharmacy and Poison’s Board raided the home in Parklands where the medical supplies were found, they also found machines they suspect were used to change the expiry dates on the drugs.
This suggested to investigators that some of the drugs’ origins and expiry dates could have been changed.
At Parklands, the police and the PPB officials also found a letter addressed to the Kemsa CEO from South Maragoli Youths Development authorising one Gilbert Mboya to collect short expiry drugs from Kemsa for a medical camp.
Mr Wanyonyi said that Mr Mboya is believed to be the mastermind of the crime and police are still looking for him.
The suspect believed to be working with Mr Mboya was arraigned on March 23 and is currently in custody at the Industrial Area Remand and Allocation Prison in Nairobi.
Kemsa is Thursday morning scheduled to meet the Senate’s Committee on Health in relation to related issues and reports from the Office of the Auditor-General that they had Sh352 million worth of expired drugs in their stores last financial year. -Business Daily
