Covid vaccine

A health worker administers Covid-19 vaccine on September 20, 2021.

| File | Nation Media Group

Rogue ministry officials selling Covid certificates, vaccines 

What you need to know:

  • The Nation team paid Sh3,000 and shared the personal information of three unvaccinated individuals.
  • Minutes later, they all received messages from the Ministry of Health confirming they had received the jab.

One thousand shillings. That is what corrupt Ministry of Health officials are charging for a coronavirus vaccination certificate.

And this illegal trade abetted by rogue officials is set to blossom as more Kenyans scramble for the crucial document after the government said only those with a Covid-19 certificate will be served in its offices.

The syndicate involves MoH officials working with unscrupulous individuals to sell the vaccination certificates, a Nation investigation has revealed.

The officials log into the MoH’s Chanjo platform and create genuine certificates for hundreds of Kenyans who do not want to get vaccinated.

All you need to do is send Sh1,000 and your personal details to a proxy of a health practitioner working at an authorised vaccination centre.

In less than five minutes, you get a confirmation message from the MoH that you have been vaccinated with the Janssen jab made by Johnson & Johnson.

To ascertain this, the Nation team paid Sh3,000 and shared the personal information of three unvaccinated individuals.

Minutes later, they all received messages from the MoH confirming they had received the jab.

“Congratulations XXX on receiving your final dose of the Janssen (Ad26.COV2-S) vaccine batch no. XE436. MOH,” the message says.

Government services

The three then created accounts on the Chanjo portal and all their details were there. They each downloaded the Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

Our sources also revealed that in some facilities AstraZeneca and Moderna certificates go for as little as Sh500.

This is happening as Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe announced that Kenyans will require a coronavirus vaccination certificate to get in-person services in government offices starting December 21.

Only people who have received both shots of vaccines such as AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna or the single Janssen jab will get government services or travel across the country.

Among in-person services that the unvaccinated will be denied are those offered by the Kenya Revenue Authority, Education ministry, National Transport and Safety Authority and Immigration, the Mombasa port, and hospital and prison visitations.

As Kenyans head into the holiday season, Mr Kagwe also said they must show proof of vaccination to be admitted to national parks, wildlife reserves, hotels, bars and restaurants.

The Health ministry has also said travellers will be required to show proof of vaccination when using domestic flights, the Standard Gauge Railway train and regional buses. 

You might ask, if people are getting genuine certificates without getting the jabs, where are the vaccines?

Well, the vaccines, according to our sources, are being sold, with some smuggled through the Moyale border point to Ethiopia.

Illegal sale of vaccines

For Sh3,000, a vial of Janssen, enough to vaccinate 10 people, was made available to us.

Contacted yesterday, Mr Kagwe said it’s illegal to certify one as vaccinated if they are not and equally criminal to sell Covid 19 vaccines. 

The CS warned facilities caught selling the vaccines will have their licenses revoked by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council. 

“The official position is that vaccines aren't for sale anywhere, not in public or private facilities. Any selling is therefore in contravention of Government orders. If a facility is found in contravention it can have its license revoked by KMPPDC. To deal with this problem, members of the public are encouraged to report to the police and KMPPDC,” Mr Kagwe said. 

Asked about sale of vaccine certificates, the CS responded: “I am not aware. If anyone does it again it would be in contravention of rules and punishable. Will investigate. It is a criminal offence and those involved should be immediately arrested.”

The latest MoH situation report shows that less than 10 percent of the adult population have been vaccinated - about 6.4 million people - while officials want to vaccinate over 27 million by the end of December.

That means the government will need to vaccinate about 20 million Kenyans in the next one month to hit its target.

But with ‘genuine’ Covid-19 vaccination certificates easily available, how sure is the ministry that the over six million Kenyans already vaccinated indeed got the vaccine?

The sale of Covid-19 certificates undermines the campaign against the deadly respiratory disease as false vaccination numbers hamper the push for herd immunity.