Kenyatta University hospital finally releases body detained for 8 months over Ksh.1.3M bill

The Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) funeral home has finally released the body of Kelvin Maina after holding it for about eight months over unpaid bills.

The body was released unconditionally following a case that was filed at the Ruiru Magistrates Court suing the government-owned facility for holding the body of the deceased as security.

Maina was rushed to the facility following an accident on the Eastern Bypass where he suffered head injuries. He however succumbed on April 2, 2022 while receiving treatment, leaving behind an unsettled hospital bill of Ksh.1.3 million.

His family, wife and two little children, tried to raise the fund by reaching out to friends and relatives but their efforts hit a brick wall.

According to Patrick Mugo, a close family friend, Maina’s family was preparing for a mock burial if the hospital insisted on holding the body any longer.

“This family has gone through a lot, since April, the bill has now gone up to close to Ksh.2 million and we have tried to form WhatsApp groups to raise the amount but it has not been successful. They had lost hope and were considering having a mock burial,” Mr. Mugo told Citizen Digital.

It took the intervention of Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina, a lawyer, to push the hospital to release the body after suing the facility on behalf of the family.

“They realized that they will lose the case anyway because the law is clear that you cannot hold the body as a security. It is illegal,” noted Ms. Maina.

The first-time lawmaker used this as a case study as she drafted a Healthcare Amendment Bill that is already at the Speaker of the National Assembly’s office.

She said the Bill entails the amendment of Section 7 of the Healthcare Act, where both public and private hospitals will not be allowed to hold dead bodies as security.

“I will be tabling a Bill in Parliament; it is with the Speaker waiting to be committed to the health committee so that it can be brought to the floor of the House. The bill says that it will be a crime for hospitals to hold bodies as security, a crime that will be punishable by a Ksh.3 million fine or six months in jail,” Ms. Maina highlighted.

In its defence, the Kenyatta University hospital said it has waived bills amounting to Ksh.140 million for patients unable to pay, but that it is not possible to do so for everybody.

Prof. Olive Mugenda, the Chairperson of the hospital's board, appealed to Kenyans to register for NHIF cover to help them in settling huge hospital bills.

“Unfortunately, we cannot waive for everybody, if you look at the bills, it is all consumables and these are things that we spend on, so it becomes very difficult to waive everything,” Prof. Mugenda clarified.

Burial preparations for the deceased are presently underway and he will be laid to rest at his rural home in Kirinyaga County.