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A disagreement over a disputed hospital bill has led to the refusal to release the body of a retired Nigerian Air Force officer, Air Vice Marshal Terry O. Okorodudu (Rtd), who died at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi on September 9, 2025.
The hospital had withheld the body pending the settlement of an outstanding bill of Sh9.8 million (N111 million), sparking a legal battle with the deceased’s family, according to Daily Nation.
The High Court has now intervened, directing the hospital to release the body for burial while the payment dispute continues.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi, in his ruling, ordered that the body be released for interment but imposed specific conditions on the deceased’s son, Mr. Bidemi Okorodudu. The judge directed Mr. Okorodudu “to deposit his passport in court and not to leave the country, pending the determination of a disputed bill of Sh9.8 million.”
Alternatively, Justice Mugambi said Mr. “Bidemi should deposit Sh8 million in court, as a condition for the release of the body for burial.”
The court noted that the hospital expressed concern that Mr. Bidemi, being a Nigerian citizen, might leave the country before the matter was resolved.
“It is also necessary to consider the apprehension by the respondent (Aga Khan) that the petitioner applicant (Mr Bidemi) is a Nigerian citizen who could possibly leave the jurisdiction of the court, thereby frustrating the efforts by the respondent to recover the amount that may be found due, even if the hospital were to recover civil remedies because of extra-territorial jurisdiction,” said the judge.
Justice Mugambi acknowledged that both the family and the hospital had rights that required balancing.
The court observed that “even as the family insisted on the right of the body to be released, the hospital too deserved protection to ensure the right to demand its rightful dues are protected.”
He noted that the late officer, who was admitted to the facility on July 25, 2025, had been aware of the financial obligations associated with treatment at the private hospital.
Justice Mugambi said Mr. Okorodudu “had full knowledge that the Aga Khan is a private hospital where he would be required to settle the bills.”
The judge reaffirmed that “the petitioner shall deposit Sh8 million in court pending judicial determination of the dispute as to the payment of the outstanding medical bill.”
Mr. Bidemi, however, “accused the hospital of unlawfully detaining the remains of the retired serviceman over an outstanding bill of Sh9.8 million.” He argued that “holding a body as security for a debt is unlawful, unconstitutional, and against public policy.”
He said in an “affidavit that the family was undergoing immense anguish, humiliation and trauma, that cannot be adequately compensated by damages, if the body was not urgently released for interment.”
The deceased’s son emphasised that his late father was “a distinguished serviceman of the Nigerian Air Force and that arrangements have been made for his military burial by the Nigerian government.”
“The continued unlawful detention of his body risks causing serious diplomatic embarrassment to both Kenya and Nigeria,” he said.
He further argued that even if any debt existed, the hospital had legal options to pursue payment.
He cited the “Foreign Judgments (reciprocal enforcement) Act,” which he said “provides a framework for the reciprocal enforcement of debts and judgments between Kenya and Nigeria.”
The family also questioned the “accuracy of the bill, raising issues with the standard of care offered to the retired military man, which they said led to complications.”
With the court’s directive, the hospital is now expected to release the remains of Air Vice Marshal Okorodudu for burial, even as the legal tussle over the disputed medical bill continues.
