Who: The case is about the unconstitutional incarceration of Daniel Ng’etich and Patrick Kipngetich for “failure to adhere” to their Tuberculosis (TB) treatment. On 13 August, 2010 the Principal Magistrate’s Court at Kapsabet ordered that the two be confined at the Kapsabet GK Prison for eight 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, 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, 24 March 2016, 2.30pm.
Where: High Court of Kenya at Nairobi, Milimani Law Courts Court No 2 on 3rd Floor.
Court Documents:
- Amended petition
- Grounds of Opposition by the AG
- Written Submissions by KELIN
- Written Submissions by AG
- Affidavit by Cabinet Secretary for Health
See also
a) Stop Sending TB Patients to Prison Video
To contribute to the discussion and for live updates follow KELIN on our social media platforms:
Twitter: @KELINkenya using hashtag #TBIsNotACrime
For more information contact:
Allan Maleche, Advocate for the Petitioners and Executive Director KELIN
Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV & AIDS (KELIN)
4th Floor, Somak Building, Mombasa Road Tel +254202515790;
Cell +254708389870;
Email: amaleche@kelinkenya.org
[…] Challenging the imprisonment of TB patients – This update on a Kenya case in which two men sick with tuberculosis “alleged to have interrupted their treatment” shows one of the ways talking about “failures to adhere” to TB treatment, instead of talking about failures to reach TB patients with appropriate medicine, support and information, can lead to bad public health practice. According to this update from the Kenyan legal and ethical rights network Kelin, a high court will decide on World TB Day if confining tuberculosis patients to prison for the duration of their treatment is a violation of human rights. The update, attached court documents, and a video, Stop sending TB patients to prison, explain why it is, and how the policy defeats its own supposed purpose. […]