James Mugo Ndichu, popularly known as Mugo Wa Wairimu, is a quack doctor who was charged with operating an illegal clinic and drugging patients in order to assault them sexually. He was sentenced to 29 years in jail by Milimani chief magistrate Wendy Micheni on Monday, November 21, 2022.
Mugo’s case first hit national headlines in 2015 when he was accused of sedating female patients and raping them. Police in their report stated that he carried out the heinous acts out of an illegal clinic he ran in Githurai 44 dubbed Prestige.
The outcry from members of the public across various social media platforms occasioned his arrest. At the time, he talked tough and didn’t seem fazed by the charges against him.
Well on November 21, Magistrate Micheni found that Mugo was guilty of 10 out of 12 counts he had been charged with. Here is his story as narrated by WoK.
Background & Education
Mugo, 47, is the fourth born in a family of six. They were all born and raised in Mutuini village in Dagoretti where his father used to run a kiosk. His mother cultivated the family land.
According to the Nation, two of his siblings are medical practitioners; one is a surgeon and the other is a pharmacist.
Mugo attended Gitiba Primary School before proceeding to Dagorreti High School.
“He disappeared after his Kenya Certificate of Secondary School examination. We were told he went to college and graduated,” a neighbour told the Nation in 2020.
“We don’t know what he studied as he did not return. We only heard of Mugo again when he wanted to vie for a parliamentary seat.”
While appearing before the court, Mugo insisted that he is not a quack doctor as alleged by the prosecution and the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board. He reiterated that he is a trained doctor and that the court case was a result of his “issues with the Kenya Pharmacy and Poisons Board”.
Rape Charges
The accused was nabbed by the police after a woman shared horrific tales of happenings at the Githurai clinic. Further, a video surfaced online showing a man who looked like Mugo having intercourse with a woman lying on a table.
He was released on a Ksh1 million and stayed out of trouble for a while.
Mugo later approached a friend who operated a clinic in Kayole and asked to use its name, Milan Health International. In early 2018, he was back in business as a gynaecologist who also offered abortion services.
He would then go on an active social media rant, accusing members of the public of tarnishing his name and reputation. He actively provided commentary and opinion without fear of the charges against him.
“I have served this country in the field of medicine. I studied at the University of Nairobi so a fake video cannot scare me,” he said on his Facebook page.
“Since I don’t believe in God, let nature take its course.”
Sentencing
Magistrate Wendy while issuing the ruling on November 21, 2022, described Mugo as a danger to society.
“He is a danger to society and ought to be kept away for a long time,” she ruled.
“Instead of using the knowledge he says he acquired to improve society he went ahead by purporting to be a gynaecologist and administering drugs to them.”
Mugo who was facing 12 counts of rape and running an illegal clinic avoided the issue of sedating and raping women at his clinic during the trial.
“Count two (in the charge sheet) is the main one. Having acquired knowledge in nursing he decided to administer drugs to patients and did despicable acts. He has not touched that. Court is at a loss to that. He endangered the lives of the patients mostly women. Most probably, rape was committed only that the evidential threshold was not met,” said the magistrate.
Mugo in his mitigation told the court that he is not a fake doctor and was determined to correct his mistake and help humanity, an argument that was dismissed by the magistrate. Not even his having elderly parents, a wife and a daughter could move the court into handing him a lenient sentence.
The court ruled that his crimes warranted the custodial sentence.
The accused is currently serving another sentence of 11 years for operating an illegal clinic in the Kayole area.
“I, therefore, order that in count two where Mugo was convicted for sedating a woman who he sexually assaulted, he is sentenced to 25 years less three years spent in remand. So he will serve 22 years,” the magistrate ruled.
She did not give him the option of paying fines since he had told the court that he would not be able to raise the money.
Political career
In 2013, Mugo attempted to contest the Roysambu parliamentary seat on a Jubilee ticket but abandoned the idea before the party primaries.
Other Arrests
He also served time at Industrial Area prison, Nairobi. The disgraced ‘doctor’ had been accused of defrauding a woman of Ksh100,000 in Dagoretti.
