Kenya Broadcasting Corporation: Center files case on unlawful detention

“The Center for Reproductive Rights has Friday filed a case before the High Court of Kenya on behalf of two women who were illegally detained in Pumwani Maternity Hospital in Nairobi for their inability to provide full payment for maternal health services they received. In the petition to the constitutional division of the High Court of Kenya, the Center is holding the hospital-as well as the Attorney General, Minister for Local Government, City Council of Nairobi, and Minister for Medical Services-accountable for the ill treatment of the two women, including human rights violations under Kenya’s constitution and international law. ‘Illegally detaining women in health care facilities because they are unable to pay their medical fees is an egregious violation of women’s fundamental rights to health and freedom,’ said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. The Center for Reproductive Rights has worked for more than a decade across the continent of Africa to advance women’s access to reproductive health care through law and policy reform. ‘Very few formal channels exist to provide redress for the serious human rights violations taking place in both public and private hospitals throughout Kenya,’ said Judith Okal, Acting Regional Director for Africa at the Center for Reproductive Rights.”

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