Zambian police said on Thursday they had arrested two fake doctors who for years operated out of a hospital in the capital Lusaka, prescribing drugs and other services without the relevant qualifications.
The pair masqueraded as physicians at University Teaching Hospital (UTH), Lusaka's biggest public clinic, from 2017 until their ruse was revealed earlier this week, authorities said.
"During this period, the suspects have been falsely operating as doctors under UTH, prescribing expensive drugs to patients," police said in a statement.
"They have since been detained in custody for the offences of impersonation, forgery, and uttering false documents".
Police identified the suspects as Amon Muchosa, a Zimbabwean national who claimed to be a sixth-year medical student, and Chibwe Kansumba, an environmental health officer.
Pharmacy
They were arrested on Wednesday after police received a tip-off from a doctor at the hospital.
An hospital source told AFP the suspects ran a pharmacy near the clinic, and prescribed expensive drugs that could only be bought there.
Police said they also prescribed pre-authorisation services to patients covered by the country's National Health Insurance Management Authority (NHIMA), which eventually grew suspicious leading to the suspects being exposed.
In a similar case in 2014, a Zambian businessman was sentenced to over four years in prison for impersonating a doctor at UTH and another hospital in Lusaka.
Authorities have urged Zambians to remain vigilant of fake doctors and to report any suspicious activity.
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