Inmates in need of medical care at Mbagathi Hospital have been left in limbo after the facility stopped offering services to prisoners over an unpaid debt of more than Ksh12 million owed by the Kenya Prisons Service.
The suspension, which took effect on August 4, has sparked a standoff between the hospital and the State Department for Correctional Services, with no agreement yet on how to settle the arrears.
Hospital officials say the debt has been piling up for years. By November 2024, unpaid bills for inmate treatment dating back to 2018 had already hit Ksh6.7 million. With no payments forthcoming, the amount has now doubled to over Ksh12 million.
Management says the backlog has strained the hospital’s budget, making it difficult to buy essential supplies and forcing the decision to suspend prisoner healthcare.
The Prisons Service has since appealed for services to resume as talks continue on a payment plan.
In the meantime, prison authorities are seeking other hospitals to handle urgent cases for inmates.
