Kenyan scientist Prof Arthur Obel, who claimed to cure AIDS, is dead

Controversial Aids Researcher Prof Arthur Obel during an interview at his Loresho home in January 2019. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard] Professor Arthur Obel, a controversial Kenyan scientist who once claimed to have found a cure for AIDS, is dead. The researcher died at Mater Hospital in Nairobi after a long battle with prostate cancer. Obel had been admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit for two weeks. His death was confirmed by his brother-in-law, Charles Onyango. He is survived by two wives and several children. Born in the late 1940s in Bar Ober, Nyanza, Obel earned a degree in clinical medicine from the University of Nairobi in 1987. He specialised primarily in medical and biological sciences, earning fellowship statuses in various prestigious institutions His fascination with medicine and research was influenced by his father, a small-scale farmer and village herbalist. His work often sought to merge traditional medicinal knowledge with modern science, a pursuit that led to the development of Kemron and later Pearl Omega, drugs he controversially claimed could cure HIV/AIDS. Pearl Omega, launched in the early 1990s, was touted by Obel as capable of suppressing the AIDS virus and restoring patients' health. In a 1996 book, he claimed seven patients had converted to HIV-negative status after using the drug. The announcement drew sharp reactions. Parliament initially supported clinical trials, but the Ministry of Health soon banned the drug, calling it an herbal concoction with no scientific basis. Many scientists dismissed it as "snake oil," though Pearl Omega continued to be sold illegally on the black market. Despite the controversy, Obel held senior positions in government and academia. He worked at the Kenya Medical Research Institute as chief research officer from 1989 to 1991, later serving as chief scientist in the Office of the President from 1995 to 1999. He also headed public administration at the Kenya Institute of Administration in 1990. His career was punctuated by dramatic turns. In July 2005, Obel allegedly shot and injured a matatu driver who had blocked the entrance to his office along Ngong Road. He was arrested, spent a night in police custody, and was later acquitted of attempted murder. His legal battles extended to his disputed AIDS remedies. Patients sued him over the ineffectiveness of Kemron and Pearl Omega, but in 1998 he won a case against the Kenya AIDS Society, which had accused him of unlawfully distributing Pearl Omega. Friends described him as a man of contradictions, a stern public figure who rarely laughed, yet a gifted composer of Luo traditional music, which he performed privately for friends and family. He also promoted the use of indigenous languages in academia, insisting African scholarship should not be confined to foreign tongues.

Kenyan scientist Prof Arthur Obel, who claimed to cure AIDS, is dead

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