Arthur Obel

Arthur Obel (1948 or 1949 – 27 September 2025) was a Kenyan scientist, researcher and pharmacologist who served as Chief Scientist in the Office of the Presdient between 1995 to 1999 and previously Chief Research Officer of Kenya Medical Research Institute. His scientific work is credited with identification of the first cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus in Kenya and claims of treatment of AIDS patients during the AIDS epidemic of the 1990's. He developed two medications, Kemron and Pearl Omega, to cure HIV/AIDS. It was later discovered that neither Kemron nor Pearl Omega were effective medications against the retrovirus. This high position in government allowed him to attain many funds for his research. Being in a respectable position also allowed him to have many close friends that were high ranking government officials, such as Philip Mbithi, the former Chief Secretary in the Office of the President of Kenya. Human trials of this medication started in 1991 and Obel claimed that the medication restored the health of seven AIDS patients.

Despite the controversy surrounding Kemron and Pearl Omega, Obel continued his academic and medical research on HIV/AIDS. In 2011, he co-authored a study examining the correlation between World Health Organization clinical staging and CD4 cell count among adult HIV-positive patients at Kenyatta National Hospital.

According to the prosecution, the incident occurred after a traffic dispute on Tom Mboya Street involving Obel and a matatu driven by Joseph (also reported as John) Kyalo Kioko. Prosecutors alleged that Obel drew a firearm and shot the driver, who sustained injuries but survived.

The trial court subsequently acquitted Obel of the attempted murder charge. Publicly available reports do not indicate that he was convicted of any offence arising from the incident.