- Justice Nixon Sifuna rules that detaining bodies over bills is unlawful.
- Caroline Tito’s body was held for nearly two months.
- Sons are unable to bury her due to a KSh 3.3M bill plus a KSh 2,000 daily mortuary fee.
- Court says hospitals must use normal debt recovery, not body detention.
The High Court has ordered Mater Hospital to release the body of the late Caroline Nthangu Tito, which had been detained for almost two months over an unpaid KSh 3.3 million medical bill.
Justice Nixon Sifuna described the act as “deeply inhumane,” saying hospitals have been using it to “blackmail, embarrass, traumatise, and coerce grieving families into paying.”
Caroline, a widow and mother of two, died on August 2 while receiving treatment. Her sons, both college students, were left stranded as they could not afford the bill or the KSh 2,000 daily mortuary fee.
Orphaned after losing their father earlier, the brothers petitioned the court, arguing that the hospital’s actions were financially and emotionally devastating.
Justice Sifuna declared that holding bodies as collateral has no legal basis, noting that “there is no property in a dead body.” He ruled Mater Hospital’s actions unlawful and ordered the body’s immediate release upon payment of reasonable mortuary fees.
The judge directed that the outstanding bill be pursued through conventional debt recovery instead.
This ruling is expected to reshape hospital practices across Kenya, protecting families from financial coercion and upholding dignity in death.
It marks one of the strongest legal moves yet in advancing patient and family rights in the country.
