A 50-year-old man has been charged for allegedly being in possession and selling counterfeit medicine in Mombasa county.
Sammy Mutavi Mwangangi appeared before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku where he was charged with possession of counterfeit medicines in the course of trade, contrary to section 32(a) as read with Section 35(1)(a) of the Anti-Counterfeit Act No.13 of 2008 laws of Kenya.
The court heard that on the 16th day of January 2026 at Sumair pharmacy situated along Kenyatta Avenue within Mombasa jointly with others before court Mwangangi was found in possession of five vials of counterfeit Hepken injection-5000 iu/ml (Heparin injection Bp) in contravention of the Anti-Counterfeit Act.
Mwangangi, however, pleaded not guilty to his charges and was released on a kshs.100,000 cash bail.
The matter will be mentioned on March 12 this year.
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB) had recently issued an urgent public alert regarding the sale of falsified Hepken-5000 medicines in the country warning that the product was unsafe and posed a serious risk to the patient’s safety.
PPB had warned the public against Hepken-5000 Batch No.ML29053 ( Heparin injection BP 5000 IU/ML), noting that it was already in circulation in the Kenyan market.
The Board clarified that Heparin injection is a blood thinner’ used to prevent dangerous blood clots, but the falsified one posed a serious risk to the patients’ safety and public health.
‘During a routine inspection, the Board identified a falsified batch of Hepken-5000 (Heparin injection BP 5000 IU/ML), Batch No.29053 misleadingly claiming to be manufactured by Makcur Laboratory Limited, India. This falsified product was found in circulation in the Kenyan market.
The PPB, together with government investigative agencies, will take firm action against anyone or entity involved in distributing this and any other falsified batches of HPTs in violation of the applicable laws” the notice read partly.
The Board called on members of the public, hospitals, pharmacists & distributors to be vigilant and report any encounter with the products.