A nurse was on Wednesday fined Sh200,000 by a Nakuru Law Court for operating four pharmacies without a license.
The Court under the precision of Chief Resident Magistrate Felix Kombo heard that the accused Caleb Jumba, 47 who is a practicing nurse based in Nakuru was arrested by Pharmacies and Poisons Licensing Board officials in Lanet while operating a pharmacy without a license from the government.
The Prosecution Desk told the Court that the accused was also linked to three other illegal pharmacies in Bondeni,Teachers and Kaptembwa Estates within Nakuru County.
According to the Prosecution, the accused was handed over to Nakuru Police Station on December 23 last year after the Pharmacies and Poisons Licensing Board officials certified that he was the person behind the four illegal pharmacies.
While testifying before the Court during the hearing of the case, an official of the Poisons and Pharmacies Licensing Board Ezekiel Omwenga told the Court that the board had started investigating the conducts of the accused following a tip off from members of the public and arrested him while he was at one of his illegally operating pharmacies in which he sold drugs at a through away prices.
Omwenga also told the Court that the accused had operated the drug centres for about two years without a license.
Magistrate Kombo in his ruling had observed that the accused who is a trained nurse and understands better the ethics involved in selling of drugs, had deliberately risked the lives of members of the public by failing to act in accordance with the regulations put in place by the government concerning selling of drugs and operating a business.
“By trying to evade tax, the accused adamantly took part in an illegal business activity while risking lives of members of the public by failing to expose his business to be assessed by government,” said Magistrate Kombo.
The accused however tried to defend himself by arguing out that he was in the process of applying for a license.
This was not taken lightly by the Magistrate since according to the witnesses the accused was in business for more than a year.