A mother of seven has been kept locked up in a Kenyan hospital for a year because she cannot pay her medical bill, local media reported on Tuesday.
The woman was admitted to a hospital in the town of Meru last April after a domestic quarrel, and shortly after gave birth to twins. As she was not able to pay the bill of 6 000 Kenyan shillings (about R485), the hospital kept her locked up, wrote the East African Standard newspaper.
A year in hospital confinement has escalated the bill to 103 000 Kenyan shillings (about R8 190), but the hospital proprietor insists the woman will not be released until the bill is cleared.
It is common in Kenya for hospitals to keep patients because they cannot pay their bills.
The government has promised to introduce a social health insurance system under which the poorest people would get free medical care, but it is unclear how the government plans to finance the scheme. — Sapa-DPA