Setback for Hospitals as Judge Rules Patients Cannot Be Held Over Unpaid Bills

The Kenyan High Court ruled that detaining discharged patients in hospitals for unpaid medical bills violates constitutional rights to freedom, security of person, and human dignity under Articles 28 and 29A of the Kenyan Constitution, as hospitals are not prisons and cannot detain individuals who have been medically discharged; this landmark decision (Petition 407 of 2012) also found such detention violates international human rights standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.