Kirinyaga Woman Representative Jane Njeri Maina has introduced a bill in Parliament that seeks to make it a criminal offence for hospitals to detain dead bodies over unpaid medical bills.
In a statement shared via her official X account on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, Njeri disclosed that the Health Amendment Bill, Bill No. 56 of 2024, has been read for the first time in the National Assembly.
If passed, it will prohibit medical institutions from withholding the bodies of deceased patients when families are unable to settle hospital charges.
“The Health Amendment Bill, Bill No. 56 of 2024, has finally been read for the first time,” she said.
“As the sponsor of the Bill, I am seeking to criminalise the detention of dead bodies by hospitals due to non-payment of accrued medical bills in instances where the families are unable to pay.”
Unclaimed bodies
The proposal comes amid growing concern over the continued detention of bodies in hospitals due to unpaid medical bills.
In recent years, many Kenyans have shared distressing accounts of hospitals holding bodies until bills amounting to hundreds of thousands of shillings are cleared.
With the current harsh economic conditions, some families are left with no choice but to abandon the bodies, leaving hospitals to grapple with the growing problem of unclaimed remains.
For instance, on June 3, 2025, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) issued an urgent public notice calling on relatives and members of the public to identify and collect 262 unclaimed bodies currently held at its farewell home.
In a public notice on MyGov, the hospital gave a seven-day deadline for the collection. Failure to claim the bodies within this period will compel KNH to seek court authorisation to proceed with their disposal, in line with the Public Health Act Cap 242 and the Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991.
“In accordance with the Public Health Act Cap 242 and the Public Health (Public Mortuaries) Rules, 1991, members of the public are hereby requested to identify and collect unclaimed bodies held at the hospital’s Farewell Home within seven days. Failure to do so will necessitate the hospital to seek court authority to dispose of these bodies,” the public notice read in part.
The unclaimed bodies include 246 infants and 16 adults. This growing number has placed significant pressure on the hospital’s mortuary facilities, making it necessary for the hospital to take swift action.
The Public Health Act Cap 242 allows public mortuaries to dispose of unclaimed bodies only after exhausting all reasonable efforts to trace the next of kin and securing court approval. This legal framework is in place to balance public health concerns and the humane treatment of the deceased.
You might also like
