Poor man sells kidney for ₦1.4 million cash, ₦1.4 million motorcycle

Poor young Kenyans are selling their kidneys for a thousand dollars and a motorcycle, the South African daily, Daily Maveric, reported on Tuesday, citing a report by the African Institute for Security Studies (ISS) based in Pretoria.

The man got an advance money payment before the surgery and got his motorcycle after.

The daily recalls the account of 30-year-old Joseph Japina, who in an interview with ISS said he was introduced to an intermediary recruiting young men to a kidney procurement network. The criminal group is supposed to operate between Eldoret in the western part of Kenya and Nairobi.

The intermediary convinced the Kenyan that if he agreed to donate one kidney, he would receive an advance payment of $984 (₦1,393,344) and another $984 in the form of a Boxer motorcycle, which he could use as a boda boda, a two-wheeled taxi popular throughout Africa.

"When Japiny agreed, he was taken to a private clinic in Eldoret for tests. After a few weeks, his kidney was removed in another clinic. When they were sure there were no complications, he received his motorcycle and was sent home," writes "DM" .

Another anonymous intermediary who spoke to ISS said he recruited more than 100 young men in the southwestern Kenyan town of Oyugis in 2023 alone. Most of them came from poor families and needed capital to start a business.

Last year, the bodies of over 400 people were found in the Kenyan village of Shakahola. These were victims of the International Church of the Good News, led by self-proclaimed pastor, Paul Mackenzie. Autopsies conducted by experts revealed in several cases the absence of some organs. The police investigating the case confirmed that the suspects were involved in the forced removal of body parts.

Kenya's Health Act allows donation of kidneys to relatives or for research purposes. However, it does not explicitly prohibit the illegal trade in which people agree to sell their organs. This vulnerability is used by international criminal groups to obtain and sell human organs.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) banned organ trading for the first time in 1987. Many countries accepted this decision and implemented it in their laws.