Ugandan Hospital Withholds Body of 12-Year-Old Boy Over Unpaid Medical Bill
KAMPALA, Uganda – The family of a 12-year-old boy is facing an agonizing wait to lay their child to rest after a private hospital in Kampala refused to release his body over an unpaid medical bill of 150 million Ugandan shillings.
Augustine, a Primary Six pupil at Greenhill School, died on November 12, 2025, from injuries sustained in a fall at school. He had been receiving treatment at TMR International Hospital in Naalya.
According to reports, the hospital is demanding that the family pays at least half of the massive bill—75 million shillings—before they can claim Augustine’s body. This has forced the family to put their burial plans in Mukono District on hold.
The school community has now stepped in, leading fundraising efforts to help the grieving family settle the debt.
The hospital’s action, however, appears to be in direct conflict with Ugandan law. Legal experts have pointed to existing court rulings and a 2020 health facilities charter that explicitly prohibit medical centers from detaining the bodies of the deceased over unpaid bills, categorizing the practice as unlawful detention.
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