Hospitals have no legal authority to hold bodies or use them as security for unpaid bills, the High Court has ruled.
Justice Nixon Sifuna on Monday declared that there is no law granting medical institutions a lien over patients or their remains, faulting the common practice by some hospitals of detaining bodies until medical debts are cleared.
“This informal action has become a habit and gained so much ground that it is almost becoming a practice, despite its lack of legal backing,” he observed.
The judge directed Mater Hospital to hand over the body of Caroline Nthangu Tito to her family for burial, stating that any outstanding amounts should be recovered through lawful debt collection channels, such as demand notices or civil suits.
He ordered the hospital to release the body to Caroline’s son, Moses Mutua, and clarified that while the family was not disputing the treatment and medication charges, those costs should be pursued through proper legal mechanisms.
“This court finds that the detention and continued detention of the remains of the late Caroline Nthangu Tito by Mater Misericordiae Hospital is wrongful and without legal or lawful justification,” Justice Sifuna ruled.
Caroline died on August 2, 2025, while receiving treatment at the facility. According to Mutua, her bill had risen to about Sh3.3 million by the time of her death. The hospital declined to release her body until the amount was fully paid.
Mutua told the court that keeping the body in the mortuary had not only prolonged their pain but was also piling up extra daily charges of Sh2,000. He explained that he and his brother are college students with no steady income and had depended on their late mother for support. Their father, Tillers Mutua, passed away in 2023.
He said they were ready to negotiate a reasonable payment plan with the hospital, but the facility rejected the proposal and demanded the full amount. The ongoing detention, he added, had worsened their financial burden due to increasing mortuary costs.
Justice Sifuna underscored that once a person dies, the handling of the body is guided by the Public Health Act and related protocols, which include ensuring that remains are treated with dignity.
“Socially, the detention of bodies by mortuaries and hospitals for debt claims traumatises bereaved families and disrespects the departed. It has, in many instances, been employed to blackmail, embarrass, traumatise and coerce bereaved families into submitting to monetary demands by hospitals,” he said.