Kenyans Youths Selling Kidneys For Money And Motorbikes, Reports Show

• Residents of Kipkenyo in Uasin Gishu County have raised concerns over the number of locals selling their kidneys
• The kidneys are valued from over KSh 200,000 to about KSh 700,000, which is way below the international prices of KSh 11 million
• Several reports have captured how youths sold their kidneys to acquire motorbikes for their boda boda business

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

In March 2024, the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) reported on how a section of Kenyan youths were selling their kidneys to come out of poverty.

Kidney transplants in Kenya

According to the publication, the cost of a kidney was approximately US dollars 1,000 (about KSh 130,000), plus a motorbike.

Many Kenyan youths yearn to own a motorbike as a source of income through boda boda transport.

The publication shared the story of Joseph Japiny, 30, from Homa Bay County, who confessed that he acquired his motorbike by selling his kidney.

Citing ENACT, an organisation that builds knowledge and skills to enhance Africa's response to transnational organised crime, ISS reported that Japiny said that Jadhot, a middleman dealing in kidney sales, linked him to buyers.

He explained that Jadhot linked Eldoret, Busia, and Nairobi youths to kidney buyers.

Kidney prices in Kenya's black market

Japiny, for instance, was paid US dollars 984, a down payment of about KSh 128,000 before the operation, and the remaining KSh 128,000 or thereabout in the form of a Boxer motorbike.

He narrated that he underwent tests at a private facility in Eldoret. After two weeks, he was offered food and accommodation for about a month as he underwent blood and urine tests ahead of the surgery.

All this while, someone was assigned to look after him and watch all his moves.

The ISS report aside, a report by the International Society of Nephrology has listed at least 100 cases of organ trafficking in the country.

In the study, whose findings were presented in December 2023 during the 2023 Kenya Renal Association Conference (KRACON 2023), poor Kenyans were victims of the organ trafficking syndicate.

At least 100 cases were reported in a presentation during the Mombasa conference.

According to the International Society, the kidneys were sold at an average price of KSh 700,000.

The Kenya Renal Association cited a lack of public reports and collusion by bosses of agencies that need to fight against organ trafficking.

KRA called on the Kenya Blood and Transplant Authority and the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists, and Dentist Union (KMPDU) to speak out vocally against the vice to safeguard vulnerable groups.

Kidney business in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu

The association said the illegal kidney transplant business was hinged on poverty, a lack of clear legislation, and exploitation.

At the back of these reports, residents of Kipkenyo in Uasin Gishu county have raised concern about an increasing number of locals selling their kidneys to wiggle their way out of poverty.

In a report by People Daily, one of the residents listed the names of two people who had donated their kidneys for monetary gains and several others who had contacted brokers and called on relevant authorities to intervene.

The concern is that most of those accepting the offers to sell their kidneys are never told the dangers that come with donating their organs, like the high risk of high blood pressure, reduced kidney activity, and subsequent failure.

According to ISS, as Kenyan youths scramble for KSh 700,000 or even KSh 300,000 for kidneys, the organ is traded at KSh 11 million in the international market.

According to the Aga Khan Hospital, in Kenya, the law only allows one source of kidneys for transplantation.

These are living-related donors (blood relatives of the recipient up to the fourth degree of consanguinity).

In 2023, Kenyatta National Hospital warned Kenyans against selling their kidneys for financial gain, citing it as illegal.

Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, a multimedia journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke

Kenyan Woman Dies Months After Visiting Children In Australia, Family Seeks Help To Repatriate Body
Nyandarua: Pain, Grief As Man Kills Own Son, Tortures 2 Daughters In Forest
Safaricom, Kenya Power Remind Customers Of 2-Day Token Purchase Disruption: "Buy Now"

Doctors conducting surgery on a patient

Kenyans Youths Selling Kidneys for Money and Motorbikes, Reports Show

Kenyan Youths Trade Kidneys for Cash and Wheels: Shocking Reports