NAIROBI, Kenya – The High Court has ruled that hospitals in Kenya have no legal right to detain the bodies of patients over unsettled medical bills, declaring the long-standing practice unlawful and oppressive.
Justice Nixo Sifuna, in a landmark judgment delivered on September 23, held that there is no provision in Kenyan law granting hospitals a “right of lien” over patients or their remains.
“There is in Kenya, no law providing for a hospital’s right of lien over patients or over their remains should they die while hospitalized or while undergoing treatment,” Justice Sifuna said.
The judge said that detaining bodies as collateral for unpaid bills not only traumatizes grieving families but also disrespects the dead. He added that the practice, though widespread, lacks any legal foundation.
“It is a practice that is oppressive, unconscionable and repugnant to justice and morality,” he ruled.
The case was brought before the court by Moses Mutua and his brother, who sued Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Nairobi after it withheld the body of their mother, Caroline Nthangu Tito.
She had been admitted on May 22, 2025, and passed away on August 2, after accumulating a medical bill of Sh3.34 million.
The hospital transferred her remains to its mortuary, where charges of Sh2,000 per day applied, further inflating the debt.
The sons, both college students, argued they were unable to pay and that the continued detention only worsened their financial situation.
Justice Sifuna agreed, ruling that hospitals may only recover unpaid treatment and medication bills through civil claims and not by detaining bodies.
However, he held that mortuary fees are payable and must be settled before release.
“Socially, the detention of bodies by mortuaries and hospitals for debt claims traumatizes the bereaved families and disrespects the departed. It has in many instances been employed to blackmail, embarrass, traumatize and coerce bereaved families,” the judge observed.
The court ordered Mater Hospital to release Caroline Tito’s body to her family immediately upon settlement of the mortuary charges.
