NAIROBI, Kenya – The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has ordered a Nairobi hospital and the Kenyatta Memorial Funeral Home to release bodies being held over unpaid bills, ruling that such detentions are unlawful and violate the dignity of the deceased.
The directive followed a complaint filed by two families with the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), popularly known as the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to the CAJ, one of the cases involved a patient who was admitted to a hospital in Westlands, Nairobi, on June 19, 2025, and died four days later.
The family said the body was later transferred to Chiromo Mortuary, where it has been detained as the hospital demanded payment of Sh701,501 in medical fees, excluding mortuary charges.
In the second case, the family of another deceased person accused the Kenyatta Memorial Funeral Home of unlawfully withholding their relative’s remains after their death at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) on July 1, 2025.
The family told the CAJ that although the Social Health Authority had settled Sh622,720 and they had personally paid Sh100,000, the facility insisted on an additional Sh266,000 before releasing the body. The total outstanding bill reportedly stood at Sh596,995.
The Ombudsman, in its findings, reminded the institutions that “the right to dignity extends posthumously,” citing Article 28 of the Constitution and Section 137 of the Penal Code, which criminalises unlawfully hindering the burial of a deceased person.
“Article 19 of our Constitution recognises that human rights exist to preserve dignity and promote social justice. These rights belong to every individual and are not granted by the State,” the commission stated.
Acting on the commission’s inquiry, KMPDC Chief Executive Officer and Registrar Dr. Daniel Yumbya directed both facilities to release the bodies immediately and pursue other lawful means to recover their debts.
“Detaining a deceased person’s body over outstanding medical bills is illegal,” Dr. Yumbya said in a letter to the institutions. “Releasing the body does not extinguish the hospital’s right to recover its debts. You are therefore directed to release the body without delay and thereafter pursue alternative lawful means to recover the outstanding amount.”
The Council reiterated that under the law, health facilities are expected to uphold patients’ dignity in life and after death, warning that continued detention of bodies over bills could attract legal sanctions.
