The Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) has directed hospitals across the country to stop detaining bodies of deceased patients as a way of recovering medical bills.
In a statement issued through the Office of the Ombudsman on September 16, the council said health facilities must seek alternative legal avenues to recover outstanding balances from families rather than hold bodies hostage.
The directive followed a complaint by a Nairobi man who accused a city hospital of withholding his wife’s body after she died on August 7, 2025.
At the time of her death, the bill had climbed to Ksh1.29 million an amount the family said they could not raise.
According to KMPDC, detaining bodies over bills not only contravenes medical ethics but also violates the Constitution. “Article 28 of our Constitution guarantees every person’s inherent dignity, and this right extends posthumously,” the Commission on Administrative Justice stated.
The council cited a past court ruling which made it clear that a body cannot be treated as security for debt, sold, or used as a source of income in mortuaries.
Following its intervention, the family was allowed to collect the remains of their loved one.
The council emphasized that hospitals should now pursue unpaid bills through lawful recovery mechanisms rather than resorting to detentions.