Sunday October 1, 2017
Pharmacy and Poisons Board officials led by North Rift Regional head Kibet Chebeo during crackdown on illegal pharmacies in Kisumu town on April 6, 2017. /MAURICE ALAL
Inspectors from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board arrested 12 people in Garissa on Friday in a massive crackdown involving police.
They face charges ranging including operating unlicensed premises and selling unregistered drugs.
They were taken to Garissa Police Station. They were later released on a cash bail and will be taken to court on Monday.
There was drama in the town as some of those who lacked the required documents and licenses hurriedly closed their premises for fear of being arrested.
Speaking to the press in Garissa town, Northeastern region senior drugs inspector Sheikh Omar said owners of 15 premises who got wind of the inspection shut their businesses.
We suspect they are operating illegally and feared inspection. They are, however, not off the hook. We marked them. They can, run but they can not hide, Omar said.
The inspector said that out of the 44 pharmacies inspected, 32 complied with regulations.
Omar said that despite the Health docket being devolved, the enforcement and regulation of pharmacy practice and trade still remains a national function.
There is a misconception out there by the public and quacks who argue that because Health was devolved, the national regulatory body, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, has no right to inspect. That is not true. The function still remains with the national government,†he said.
Omar regretted that the profession has been infiltrated by quacks and unscrupulous businesspeople who endanger the lives and safety of unsuspecting people.
These are the people we were determined to get rid off completely, he said.