By KPC Reporter
Prof. Arthur Obel, the Kenyan scientist who courted fame and controversy in equal measure with his claims of finding a cure for HIV/AIDS, has died.
His family confirmed his death on Saturday after a short illness.
Prof. Obel became a household name in the early 1990s when he introduced Kemron, a drug he said could reverse the effects of HIV/AIDS.
The launch was accompanied by fanfare and hope across Kenya and beyond.
However, independent studies, including those conducted under the World Health Organization (WHO), later discredited the treatment as ineffective.
Undeterred, Obel introduced another drug, Pearl Omega, which he marketed as a definitive cure.
It drew desperate patients and controversy in equal measure.
The Ministry of Health eventually banned the drug after tests showed it lacked efficacy.
Prof. Obel faced lawsuits from patients who claimed to have been misled.
Still, he pressed on, later unveiling Iconaire, which he said boosted immunity and could help HIV-positive individuals.
Like his earlier treatments, the product was dismissed by the global scientific community.
To admirers, Prof. Obel was a visionary African scientist who challenged Western dominance in medical research and dared to pursue unconventional answers to a devastating epidemic.
To critics, he was a man who exploited public desperation at the height of the AIDS crisis.
Prof. Obel who was in his 70s by the time he died studied medicine and later rose to become a professor of pathology.
Though his research left him a polarizing figure, he remained steadfast in defending his work until his final days.