Ignore video claiming top Kenyan doctor has endorsed a cheap formula that ‘cures joint pain in 30 days’
IN SHORT: A manipulated video doing the rounds on Facebook claims prominent Kenyan cardiologist Dr Dan Gikonyo is backing a formula that restores joints in 30 days. But no such cure even exists.
A video uploaded to Facebook on 12 August 2025 opens with a 3D animation of joints before cutting to footage of Dr Dan Gikonyo, one of Kenya’s leading cardiologists.
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The video carries a narration, made to sound like Gikonyo, warning against painkillers and injections. It also urges viewers to urgently buy a cheap “formula” that cures arthritis and stiffness in 30 days.
The video has been viewed close to 100,000 times.
Joint problems in Kenya
Joint pain and arthritis are widespread health issues globally and affect many people in Kenya. Osteoarthritis, for example, often develops with age but can also be linked to obesity, past injuries or lifestyle factors.
Research shows that arthritis is a growing health burden in Kenya, especially among older adults. Treatment typically combines lifestyle changes, physiotherapy, pain relief and in severe cases, surgery.
These approaches do not cure arthritis, but they can ease pain and improve mobility.
The Facebook post, however, dismisses painkillers and medical treatments as useless, instead promoting a “cheap, once-a-day formula” that supposedly restores cartilage in 30 days.
But does it really work? We checked.
The narration is fake and the claims are false
The Facebook video is misleading on several fronts. It falsely presents Gikonyo, who is a cardiologist and not a rheumatologist, as endorsing the product.
The narration mimics his voice but does not match it, and the audio is out of sync with his lip movements, proving that the footage is manipulated.
First, a Google image search confirms that the video recycles material from a 17 March 2021 Citizen TV interview with Gikonyo about Covid-19. That footage has been repurposed with fake audio to make it look like he is promoting a “joint pain cure”. Such misrepresentation is a common tactic in online health scams.
Second, the medical claims are false. No supplement or “formula” has been scientifically proven to regrow cartilage or cure arthritis within 30 days.
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Promises of quick, permanent cures are a hallmark of unverified health products. The narration also wrongly dismisses recognised treatments such as physiotherapy, medications and injections as ineffective.
The video uses familiar health scam techniques, including emotional appeals, pressure to act quickly and false authority by implying endorsement from a respected Kenyan cardiologist.
Another red flag is the claim that the product is unavailable in pharmacies to “avoid inflated prices and counterfeits”, when the real reason is that it’s not an approved treatment. The provided purchase link is suspicious and lacks credibility.
Health supplement scams have become increasingly common, and this video displays nearly all the warning signs. Africa Check has debunked several similar health scams in the past.
The video claiming that Gikonyo has endorsed a miracle joint pain cure is a scam.