Man asks court to compel hospital to release bodies of wife, child over unpaid bill
According to court papers, after her death, the remains of Namubiru and her stillborn baby were transferred to Chiromo Funeral Home for preservation under an existing arrangement between the hospital and the mortuary.
A Nairobi man has filed an urgent application in court seeking orders to compel Westlands General and Specialist Hospital and Chiromo Funeral Home to release the bodies of his late wife and child, which have been detained over an outstanding medical bill.
In a certificate of urgency filed through the law firm of Rachier and Amollo LLP, the applicant, Geoffrey Mende Otiende, said his wife, Doreen Namubiru, died on September 29, 2025, while undergoing intensive care treatment at the Westlands hospital following childbirth complications that arose a week earlier.
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According to court papers, after her death, the remains of Namubiru and her stillborn baby were transferred to Chiromo Funeral Home for preservation under an existing arrangement between the hospital and the mortuary.
Otiende said at the time of his wife's death, he owed the hospital Sh2.4 million in medical expenses. He said the hospital has refused to release the burial permit and the bodies until he clears the full amount.
The applicant, who described himself as a modest earner working as an independent motorcycle courier with a monthly income of about Sh 25,000, said he has exhausted his savings, borrowed from friends and family, and already paid over Sh460,000 to the hospital.
Through his lawyer, Stephen Liguya, Otiende argued that the hospital's action amounts to using the bodies as "collateral," contrary to public policy, and violates his right to lay his loved ones to rest with dignity.
He now seeks interim orders directing the respondents to unconditionally release the burial permit and the remains to enable him to proceed with burial arrangements scheduled for October 18, 2025, in Vihiga County.
Otiende further contended that continued detention of the bodies serves no legal purpose and causes him emotional anguish and financial strain as he continues to cater for their preservation charges at the funeral home.
He wants the court to declare the hospital's actions unlawful and issue an injunction restraining the respondents from further withholding the bodies or the burial permit pending the determination of the case.
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