Passaris: Detaining patients’ bodies over bills is degrading and unlawful
By Ascah Mwango, September 30, 2025Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has condemned the practice by some hospitals of detaining patients’ bodies over unpaid bills, calling it degrading, unlawful and cruel to grieving families.
In a statement she posted on her X account on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Passaris said she has for years appealed to hospitals to stop holding onto patients or remains as a way to force payment.
She said that this practice disrespects the dignity of the deceased, traumatises families, and violates moral and legal norms.
She praised High Court Judge Nixon Sifuna for reaffirming that hospitals have no lien on patients or remains, and urged that any debts be pursued through civil suits rather than by detaining bodies.
“For years, I have pleaded with hospitals to release patients & bodies detained over bills. This practice is degrading & unlawful. I applaud Justice Nixon Sifuna for reaffirming that hospitals have no lien over patients or remains. Such debts should be pursued as civil claims, as Justice Nixon Sifuna equally reiterated, and not by holding bodies, which disrespects the deceased, traumatises families, and offends justice and morality,” Passaris stated.
Court’s ruling
Her remarks come days after the High Court declared it unlawful and unconstitutional for hospitals to detain bodies over unpaid bills, calling the practice a violation of human dignity.
Justice Nixon Sifuna issued the landmark ruling while ordering Mater Hospital to release the body of Caroline Nthangu Tito, which had been held for nearly two months over a Ksh3.3 million bill.
He said using remains as collateral for debt breaches dignity and public morality.
“The detention of bodies by mortuaries and hospitals for debt claims traumatises the bereaved families and disrespects the departed… it has been employed to blackmail, embarrass, traumatise, and coerce grieving families into submitting to monetary demands by hospitals,” he said.
Adding;
“The detention and continued detention of the remains of the late Caroline Nthangu Tito by Mater Hospital is wrongful and without any legal or lawful justification. There is no property in a dead body.”
The court directed Mater Hospital to release the body upon payment of reasonable mortuary charges only, with the outstanding bill to be pursued through lawful debt recovery.