Media Advisory on Petition No. 329 of 2015: Daniel Ng’etich, Patrick Kipng’etich Kirui & KELIN vs. The Hon Attorney General & the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Health

What: The High court of Kenya is set to make a precedence judgment on the treatment of TB patients, a judgment that has ramifications on policy and actual treatment of the patients. This judgment is precedence in East Africa on the case of widespread wrongful imprisonment of TB patients in Kenya.

 Who: The case is about the unconstitutional incarceration of two brothers for “failure to adhere” to Tuberculosis (TB) treatment. On 13^th of August, 2010 the Principal Magistrate’s Court at Kapsabet ordered the two (Daniel Ng’etich & Patrick Kipngetich) to be incarcerated at the Kapsabet GK Prison for 8 months or until the satisfactory completion of their TB treatment. A case was filed at the High Court seeking to overturn the magistrate’s court decision and also order the government to come up with policy guidelines on TB treatment in the country, among other issues the petitioners asked the court.

Why:  The case, filed by Allan Maleche (Advocate for the Petitioners) on behalf of Daniel Ng’etich, Mr. Patrick Kipng’etich Kirui and Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN), seeks to challenge the wide spread practice adopted by Public Health Officers of seeking court orders to confine TB patients in prison for purposes of treatment.

This is because, in implementing the practice of involuntarily confining TB patients, the Public Health Officers go against the principles of human rights including human dignity. This confinement goes on despite the fact that our prisons are overcrowded and poorly ventilated, making it conducive for the spread of TB.

Further, the Prisons Act does not provide for isolation facilities for TB patients. Holding TB patients in prison not only puts a risk to the other prisoners but to the prison wardens and their family members. It also defeats the very aim the health officers seek to achieve, of protecting the public from persons with infectious diseases.

When: Thursday, 17th December 2015, 1400 hrs.

Where: High Court of Kenya at Nairobi, Milimani Law Courts Court No 2 on 3rd Floor.

For more information contact:
Sandra Ochola (Acting Executive Director) KELIN

Or; Belice Odamna (Senior Programs Officer and Advocate for the Petitioners) Mombasa Road, Somak building 4th floor
P.O Box 112-00200, KNH
Tel +254202515790; Cell +254 790339964;

Email: sochola@kelinkenya.org and bodamna@kelinkenya.org
For Twitter updates: @KELINkenya #TBIsNotACrime
For background on the case: https://kelinkenya.org