A parliamentary committee has thrown its weight behind a proposed law aimed at tightening regulation in the health sector and protecting patients from malpractice and unqualified practitioners.
The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Health on Thursday supported the Medical Practitioners and Dentists (Amendment) Bill, 2026, describing it as a key step towards improving accountability and professionalism in healthcare.
The Bill, sponsored by Nyeri Town MP Duncan Mathenge, seeks to regulate community oral health officers, dental technologists and optometrists, while also introducing stricter measures against fraudulent registration and licensing practices.
Members of the committee, led by Seme MP and committee chairperson Dr James Nyikal, welcomed the proposal, saying it could help address long-standing challenges within the sector.
The proposed law also seeks to provide a framework for the registration of foreign medical practitioners living and working in Kenya.
One of the major proposals in the Bill targets medical practitioners who assist unqualified individuals to obtain registration licences fraudulently.
Under the proposed law, anyone found guilty of helping another person secure a licence through fraudulent means could face a fine of up to Ksh300,000, a jail term of up to 12 months, or both.
The Bill further states that a practitioner convicted of such an offence would have their name removed from the professional register or lose their licence.
Another provision seeks to address the controversial practice of detaining patients or the bodies of deceased persons over unpaid hospital bills.
In the event that the Bill is passed, persons found guilty of holding back patients or corpses due to outstanding medical bills may be subjected to either a fine amounting to Ksh5 million, imprisonment for up to five years, or both.
According to supporters of the Bill, the amendments will be aimed at protecting patients and ensuring ethical behavior on the part of the healthcare practitioners.
Dr Nyikal said during the committee session that the proposed amendments may play a great role in restoring confidence in the health sector.
“This amendment Bill is very important and it will restore sanity in the key health sector,” he said.
The Bill will now undergo public participation where all healthcare practitioners and the general public can air their views. The proposed amendments, in the event of being enacted into law, will have some of the most stringent punitive measures ever seen in Kenya’s healthcare practice.