NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has been asked to compel the government to restore medical services for prisoners after a Nairobi public hospital allegedly suspended treatment over unpaid bills.
In a petition filed under a certificate of urgency, Kituo Cha Sheria claims that inmates across the country have been unable to access essential healthcare since August 4, 2025.
According to court documents, Mbagathi County Referral Hospital allegedly stopped attending to prisoners from the Kenya Prisons Service due to an outstanding bill of about Sh12 million.
Kituo’s Executive Director, Dr. Wambua Kituku, argued that the suspension has exposed inmates, including those with chronic and life-threatening conditions, to the risk of deteriorating health, preventable suffering, and even death.
The organisation is seeking interim orders compelling the Ministry of Health and Mbagathi Hospital to resume admitting and treating inmates without discrimination, regardless of the financial dispute between state agencies.
It also wants the State Law Office, the Ministry of Health, and the Kenya Prisons Service directed to ensure that prisoners have continuous access to healthcare, either at Mbagathi or other designated public facilities.
In its petition, Kituo Cha Sheria contends that the suspension violates fundamental constitutional rights, including:
- the right to health under Article 43,
- the right to dignity under Article 28, and
- the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under Article 29.
The legal aid group further argued that inmates, being under state custody, are wholly dependent on the government for their welfare and cannot independently seek healthcare.
“The continued denial of medical services renders this petition nugatory and places inmates at risk of irreparable harm and preventable deaths,” the petition reads in part.
The court is expected to issue directions on the matter.
