Families Protected as High Court Bans Hospitals from Holding Bodies Over Bills

The High Court has ruled that hospitals and mortuaries cannot detain bodies over unpaid bills, declaring the practice unconstitutional and a violation of human dignity.

In a landmark ruling, Justice Nixon Sifuna ordered Mater Hospital to release the body of the late Caroline Nthangu Tito, which had been held for nearly two months due to a KSh 3.3 million medical bill.

Justice Sifuna condemned the practice as “deeply inhumane,” noting that it has been used to “blackmail, embarrass, traumatise, and coerce grieving families into submitting to monetary demands by hospitals.”

Tito, a widow and mother of two, died on August 2 while receiving treatment at Mater Hospital. Her sons, both college students, were unable to bury her because of the substantial bill, which was further compounded by a KSh 2,000 daily mortuary fee.

Already orphaned following their father’s death, the young men petitioned the court, arguing that the hospital’s actions had left them both financially strained and emotionally devastated.

Justice Sifuna ruled that detaining bodies as collateral for debt has no legal basis. He stated: “The detention and continued detention of the remains of the late Caroline Nthangu Tito by Mater Hospital is wrongful and without any legal or lawful justification.”

He further emphasized that, under the law, there is no property in a dead body, making its detention for debt recovery unlawful.

The court instructed Mater Hospital to release the body immediately upon payment of reasonable mortuary fees, while the outstanding medical bill should be pursued through standard debt recovery procedures.

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