Nairobi, Kenya — More than 100 new mothers are being held at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital in Nairobi after being unable to settle their medical bills, sparking renewed debate over the ethics of detaining patients in public health facilities.
Most of the detained women are teenage mothers from Kayole, while at least two others are foreign nationals from Uganda and Tanzania. Many have been stranded for weeks after giving birth, unable to leave without clearing their bills.
“My friend came to deliver her baby, and now it’s been one month and two weeks since she was discharged. She called me saying she couldn’t leave because she had no money. We raised Ksh.4,000, but they told her to see the social worker because it wasn’t enough,” said Diana Odhiambo, one of the mothers’ neighbours.
Two women who spoke to Citizen TV by phone said their bills had ballooned to over Ksh.100,000, amounts they cannot afford.
Hospital Cites Financial Strain and Low SHA Registration
Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital CEO, Fredrick Obwanda, confirmed that the facility is grappling with a rising number of unpaid bills, which has strained operations and service delivery.
He noted that many detained mothers are not registered under the government’s Social Health Authority (SHA) — a program meant to cover hospital bills for registered members.
“If you do not want to register for SHA, then the other alternative is to pay cash. We insist on that because if everyone receives services for free and walks out, the hospital will collapse,” Obwanda said.
“We serve over 3,000 patients daily, and if we waive Ksh.2 million worth of bills per day, in a week that’s over Ksh.10 million. Financial hemorrhaging like that will shut this hospital down.”
The CEO added that while the hospital tries to accommodate genuine hardship cases, some patients bypass lower-level facilities and go straight to referral hospitals, increasing costs unnecessarily.
“We’re not heartless, but sustainability matters. We appeal to Kenyans to register for SHA to avoid such crises,” he said.
Growing Ethical Debate
The case has reignited public outcry and ethical debate over the legality of detaining patients for unpaid bills — a practice long criticized by human rights organizations.
While hospitals argue that they must recover costs to remain operational, critics say holding patients, particularly mothers and infants, violates human dignity and constitutional rights.
As investigations continue and public pressure mounts, dozens of women — many of them young and unemployed — remain confined within hospital wards, uncertain when they will return home with their newborns.
