Court Orders Hospital to Release Body Held Over Ksh3m Bill

A Nairobi court has ordered a leading hospital to release the body of a woman who died nearly two months ago, ruling that it is unlawful to detain the remains over unpaid medical bills exceeding Ksh3 million.

In a judgment delivered on 23 September, High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna found that the hospital’s actions violated constitutional rights and ethical standards. The deceased had passed away on 2 August after an extended period of treatment. 

Her two sons, both students, petitioned the court after the facility refused to release their mother’s body, citing outstanding medical fees. In addition to the hospital bill, the family was being charged Ksh2,000 per day in mortuary fees.

Justice Sifuna ruled that no Kenyan law permits a hospital to detain a body as security for a debt. “There is no property in a dead body, and correspondingly there cannot be a right of lien on it,” he said, describing the hospital’s conduct as coercive and emotionally punitive.

The court issued a mandatory injunction for the immediate release of the body upon payment of the mortuary charges only. The outstanding medical bill, the judge said, should be pursued through proper legal channels, such as civil litigation. 

The ruling is expected to influence how hospitals manage debt recovery when a patient dies while under treatment. The decision is consistent with recent guidance from the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC), which clarified earlier in September that healthcare facilities have no legal basis to withhold bodies over unsettled bills. 

In a statement issued through the Office of the Ombudsman on 16 September, the Council urged hospitals to use lawful means of collecting debts and warned that detaining bodies is a breach of both legal and ethical obligations.