Quack doctor was never a medicine student at the university

Ronald Kiprotich Melly, the 28-year-old fake doctor we exposed on Monday, has never been a student at the University of Nairobi's School of Medicine, records show.

Mr Melly was in court on Monday, charged with practising medicine without qualifications and possible forgery of documents.

The university said in a letter to the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Board that Mr Melly was “not a registered MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) student and therefore never trained at this institution.”

Kenyans are trying to understand how Mr Melly went about his quackery undetected.

At Meteitei Sub-County Hospital in Nandi County on Monday, workers were huddled in small groups discussing in hushed tones how Mr Melly, a man they once knew as their boss, fooled them into believing he was a qualified doctor.

“He was a gentleman with good public relations skills. We were surprised to read in the papers that he is not qualified,” said a medic, who sought anonymity.

Another medic at Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, however, said he was convinced that Mr Melly was not qualified from the way he conducted himself especially while in theatre.

SCALPEL INCIDENT

“I was shocked at the way he conducted himself while in the line of duty. I was once with him in theatre and the way he handled the scalpel made me doubt his qualifications as a medic,” said another medical worker, who also sought anonymity.

“We had question marks over his credentials but feared to raise a finger because he seemed to be well-connected with top ministry officials,” he said.

The Nation could not immediately establish the number of patients that Mr Melly treated. But sources said he conducted many minor surgeries and caesarean deliveries.

Richard Lang’at, a chemist near the hospital, said that just a week ago, Mr Melly visited his shop in the company of officials from the medical practitioners board.

“I doubted his credentials after he avoided technical questions I had asked him concerning the medical profession,” said Mr Langa’t.

Mr Melly on Monday told the board and detectives that he had been a student at the University of Nairobi and that he graduated in 2014.

But records at the Ministry of Health shows he graduated in 2013 and that he holds a temporary internship licence that shows he graduated in 2015.

The letter to the board by the dean of the School of Medicine, Prof Fredrick Were, was in response to an inquiry on whether Mr Melly was a student as he had claimed.

LAUNCHED INVESTIGATIONS

The board launched investigations after Mr Melly presented himself at the medical practitioners board offices seeking permanent registration though he had not been to university, graduated or been properly licensed to practise medicine. He was arrested by detectives from the Special Crime Prevention Unit.

Mr Melly rose rapidly through the ranks from a medical intern at Kendu Mission Adventist Hospital to the Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, where he worked in the maternity and casualty departments before becoming a medical superintendent at Meteitei Sub-County Hospital in Nandi.

The Ministry of Health was until Tuesday evening trying to find the first letter Mr Melly presented to them purporting to have come from the University of Nairobi, seeking posting for the mandatory 12-month internship. He did his internship at Kendu Mission Adventist Hospital.

FORGED LETTERS

A year later, he would show up at Afya House with a letter from the hospital in Homa Bay County showing that he had completed his internship. The letter was also apparently forged.

According to communication from the hospital to the board, Mr Melly did not complete his internship because he had not successfully “completed surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology rotations and had failed to provide certified copies of his internship logbook, duly signed by the supervisors for internal medicine and paediatric rotations”.

The March 25, 2016 letter, signed by the chief of medical services, Dr Joel Marwa, was copied to the director of medical services and the board chief executive.

However, Mr Melly managed to forge another letter dated March 31, 2016 that instead showed he had completed the internship and was ready for deployment.

EMPLOYED FAKE MEDIC

It is not clear whether these offices received this communication and whether it was acted upon.

On Monday, the Nandi County government sought to exonerate itself from blame that it employed the fake medic, with the director of health, Dr Daniel Kemboi, saying Mr Melly was deployed to the region by the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee on April 13 this year.

Dr Kemboi, who held a crisis meeting with medics at Meteitei Sub-County Hospital yesterday, said Mr Melly was sent to the hospital in October to replace a doctor who had gone on study leave.

“We’ve submitted all his documents to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. We hope by Friday we will have got all the information about him,” said Dr Kemboi, who described Mr Melly as a disciplined man.

The quack was paid a salary of Sh109,000, including allowances.

'BRIGHT STUDENT'

On Monday, the county health executive, Mathew Rotich, said county officials were equally shocked by the new development.

“The doctors are posted by the parent Ministry of Health and Mr Melly was among those posted here,” said Mr Rotich.

The Nandi County Assembly has, meanwhile summoned Mr Rotich, health Chief Officer Edward Serem and the Nandi County Public Service Board to explain how the quack was allowed to work.

Tinderet Sub-County deputy director of education Isaac Kiprais said that Mr Melly was a bright student at Tinderet Boys Secondary School, where he scored a mean grade of B (plain).

A letter from the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee dated April 13, 2016 shows that 103 medical doctors, including Mr Melly, were posted to various hospitals in the 47 Counties.

Reported by Eunice Kilonzo, Wycliff Kipsang and Tom Matoke