In this interview, a Jos-based businessman, Busari Kamaru, tells James Abraham how his wife’s kidney was allegedly harvested by a fake doctor during a surgical operation
What is your name?
My name is Busari Kamaru. I’m a resident of Rikos community in the Jos North Local Government of Plateau State.
How old are you?
I’m 51 years old.
What do you do for a living?
I’m a businessman and I do car repairs as well.
You are currently at the centre of a controversy surrounding an alleged harvesting of your wife’s kidney by a fake doctor during a surgical operation. How did it actually happen?
What is happening at the moment to my wife could be traced to 26th January 2018. On that faithful morning, my wife had severe abdominal pain and stomach ache. She wanted to go and pay for my son’s school fees that same day. Seeing that she was in pain, I offered to take her to one hospital so that they would just do scanning to know what the problem was, because I don’t like just buying drugs to treat something whose cause has not been determined. So, I took her to this Murna Clinic and Hospital within the community. There, I met Dr Noah Kekere, who is in charge of the hospital. He told me he was going to conduct a scan on my wife which I agreed to. My wife proceeded into his office, and then he conducted the scan and told me that my wife had appendicitis and that he will have to do an operation on her that same day. I refused because I was not prepared for anything operation. The man told me that the appendicitis was about to burst and that he needed to conduct the operation, if not, we may lose my wife. I told him that my wife had never complained about any stomach pain and that this one just happened that morning.
What happened after that?
At that moment I did not know what to do again, especially as the man said the appendix might burst if we did not do something urgent.
So, I excused myself and rushed outside the hospital to call my friends and my sister to inform them about the situation. They unanimously advised that I should just go ahead with the operation. I did not know what he had told my wife…when I entered the office my wife started crying saying, ‘’haba, because of how much? Let him just do it now”. Because of the way the doctor explained a lot of things, he said to me in my dialect that is Yoruba language. And I said no problem. Let him just go ahead. He charged us N160, 000. I told him that I don’t have that money and he asked for now much I could afford, and I told him N80, 000 and we agreed to carry out the surgery. He asked me to go and get the money so that before he completes the surgery. He told me the operation would start around 12noon. I called my mother and my wife’s mother before the operation. My mother came and I went into town to go and get the balance of N40, 000. I brought the money around after 12 and they had already wheeled my wife into the operation theatre. Around 5 pm that same day, the man called me that I should enter the theatre and see what was happening. What they were doing. When I entered the theatre, I saw my wife with all her intestines left outside. I ran outside because I could not bear to look at the scene. So, around 8 pm, they brought my wife outside and pushed her inside the ward. We spent a week at the Murna Clinic and Hospital. After the surgery, my wife could not stand up very well for almost four months and before he discharged us, he said I should be buying swan water for my wife to be drinking every morning. So, that is how I continued buying swan water for my wife for almost four months. After about six months, my wife started complaining again about the same abdominal pain on the right side. She complained that there is something like a wound she was feeling inside her stomach. So, I took her back to the hospital. My wife went back to the Murna clinic and hospital and laid her complaint. Another scan was conducted, and this time, he prescribed some drugs which I paid N17, 350 to buy that fateful day. I will never forget that day. After that, my wife came back home and she was relieved for almost one week, but about two to three weeks later, the stomach pain started again. She managed the pain for about one month before she went back again. This time, we decided go to the General Hospital for us to know what is happening. On getting there, they told my wife that her right side kidney is no more there and that it has been removed. My wife came back and told me.
I was shocked because my wife who has four children has never undergone any operation even during childbirth. Who could have removed her kidney? Murna Hospital was the only health facility that had carried operation on her because of stomach pain. So, we decided to go back to the hospital where the operation was conducted.
So, when we got there, at the reception, they informed us that doctor Kekere was in the theatre. I kept on shouting at the hospital. I then called a friend who said I should leave the hospital and report the matter to the police station.
What happened next?
That is how I went to the police station in the community. I met the DPO and narrated everything to him. The DPO gave me a DCO and two inspectors to go and invite the doctor. When the doctor arrived, they showed him the results that my wife did at the Jos University Teaching Hospital which showed that she had no right kidney. Doctor Kekere acknowledged that the result showed that there is no right-side kidney. He said maybe my wife was born with one kidney. We asked how he knew she was born with one kidney. He now said that we needed to conduct CT scan again. He argued that if we conduct a CT scan, it will show us whether my wife was born with one kidney or the kidney was removed. So, we went to Fertile Ground Hospital to do the CT scan. He recommended Fertile Ground and we took my wife there. After the scan, a lady came out and met my wife saying, “Madam, who did this to you. Why did you allow them to remove your Kidney? My wife said she did not permit anyone to remove her kidney; she told her doctor kekere operated on her for appendicitis and that she was not aware if her kidney was removed or not. We confronted the doctor and he could not give any explanation but kept shouting. That is when the police officer introduced himself and asked the lady saying “we came here to verify a lot of things, we want to know whether this woman is with one kidney? The lady replied and said that “this woman was never born with one kidney”. So, the police officer now asked her “how do you know that?” She explained that based on their scan, the other kidney was removed. On getting to the police station, they gathered there, trying to negotiate with me.
Who tried to negotiate with you?
It was the said doctor and I said no to any form of negotiation. I told them I will not say anything yet because my wife has a family and I have a family, and we need to consult them first whether they are going to agree on the negotiations because I’m not agreeing with all the things they were telling me.
What were they telling you on the negotiation?
I went to the DPO of Nasarawa Gwom community to complain. His name is Timothy. The DPO called me the following morning that he wanted to see me personally. On getting there, the man told me that since yesterday till this morning, some people have been calling him for negotiation. But he did not know what to tell them because they are offering him a certain amount of money.
He asked me what my position on the matter is because they calculated the time they removed my wife’s kidney, they said it was sold at a 6 million naira then. But now, it is worth 20 million. They said if they want to pay the money for the kidney, it will be 20 million naira. I said “look officer, I am not the type of person anyone can buy with money. Let this man come out and own up to me that he removed my wife’s kidney. What do you want me to do?” But the man (Doctor Noah Kekere started begging me, saying that the deed had been done and that I should just temper Justice with Mercy. He asked what I want him to do for me. I told him that I don’t need anything from him except to return my wife’s kidney from wherever he took it to.
The Commissioner of Police asked him if he will take my wife abroad to replace her kidney, but he couldn’t say any word. He started saying “Jesus Christ”. So, he was taken to the guard room and detained.
How long have you been married to your wife?
We have been married since the 26th November, 2005. She has four children.
How Is she doing now?
She is presently in my house. She is forty-five years now and we need help to save her life because the pain is still there. They have been telling me that only three teaching hospitals in Nigeria can help us. It’s either UCH Ibadan, or Lagos University Teaching Hospital or University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital in Nsukka, Enugu State. So, I’m considering taking her to Ibadan first for proper treatment.
Have you been treated personally at the Murna Hospital where your wife’s kidney was alleged removed?
No, no, I’ve never been there. It was my mother that used to go to the hospital. My mother convinced me that the man is a good doctor and that people have been talking about the man that he is a very nice person.
How have you been able to handle the issue in the community?
The Yanshanu Community chairman called me. That is Alhaji Jamilu Baba. He started investigating this issue because everybody was shocked because we took this doctor as a good man in the community. Nobody knows he wasn’t a qualified doctor until now. Anybody with small headache runs to the hospital and he cures them even without any payment. Even newborn babies were delivered in the hospital. So, nobody suspected that this man was never a doctor. It has been happening also that after operation, people will die in the hospital and nobody ever suspected this man.
Are you satisfied with the way the police is handling the matter?
For now I will say I am satisfied, especially with the Nasarrawa Police station. The DPO of Nassarawa is a man of God. He tried his best and refused to compromise. He was offered a lot of money to kill the case but he refused. That is why the matter was taken to the Commissioner of Police. And the Commissioner of Police is also trying his best. He doesn’t want to compromise because he was totally angry.
So what are your demands?
I want justice. This man has been collecting money from me for the past five years now, every month. And I have been spending money on my wife. Now that I have discovered that this is a problem of kidney, where will I get money to take care of my wife? Every day, I wake up with fears of losing my wife. I don’t know what to do. Where do I get money to take care of this woman? We are talking about huge sums of money for another kidney. Where do I get money to take her abroad for treatment? I don’t have such amount of money. They were calling millions of naira. Where do I get it from? Do you know that last year when I called this man (so called doctor) and told him enough is enough; I will take my wife to another hospital, this same man discouraged me and told me that he was going to conduct another operation on my wife? (Punch)
