President William Ruto has revoked the substantive appointment of Swarup Mishra as the non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors at Kenya Biovax Institute Limited.
In a gazette notice published on Friday, July 4, Ruto replaced Mishra with Dr Charles Githinji.
Githinji has been slated to serve in his new portfolio for three years.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by section 6 (1) (a) of the State Corporations Act, as read together with section 51 (1) of the Interpretation and General Provisions Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint Dr Charles Githinji to be the Non-Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Kenya Biovax Institute Limited, for three years...The appointment of Dr Swarup Ranjan Mishra is revoked," read the president's notice.
The president tapped Githinji from the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, where he served in the same capacity.
Established in 2021 under the Ministry of Health, the Kenya Biovax Institute is charged with manufacturing, packaging, and commercialising specialised health products and technologies, including vaccines and therapeutics.
The revocation of Mishra's appointment came three months after he was suspended owing to alleged medical malpractices involving his chain of Mediheal Hospitals.
His suspension came after five months since his appointment.
The Mediheal Hospital branch in Eldoret was implicated in alleged cases of organ trafficking, particularly transplanting and selling of kidneys from unsuspecting members of the public.
The Ministry of Health sanctioned an investigation into the matter, and while at it, immediately suspended kidney transplant procedures at all Mediheal Group of Hospitals.
