This archive report was first published on 2 July 2021.
On July 2, 2021, the High Court in Kenya ordered Mediheal Group of Hospitals and Mediheal Hospital Eastleigh to pay a former employee Sh2 million in damages for testing her HIV status without her consent and disclosing the results to third parties.
The court's decision was made in an appeal case filed by the woman, who was identified as Rao, against the hospital's initial award of Sh900,000 by the HIV and Aids Tribunal in November 2020.
Justice Hellen Ong'undi, who presided over the case, increased the award, stating that the tribunal's amount was too low and failed to consider that Ms Rao also lost her job due to the disclosure of her HIV status.
The judge noted that the HIV and Aids Prevention and Control Act, 2006 requires that informed consent be obtained before an HIV/Aids test is done, and that the hospital failed to provide Ms Rao with pre-test and post-test counseling.
Ms Rao had testified that she was admitted to the hospital on May 25, 2019, and that Dr. Sadiqi Parvez Ahmed conducted a series of medical tests, including an HIV test, without her knowledge or consent.
She alleged that the doctor disclosed the results of the tests to her in the presence of other patients in the ward and notified the human resources department without her consent, resulting in her suffering physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
The hospital denied the allegations, stating that Ms Rao had consented to the tests by signing an admission/consent form and that Dr. Ahmed had not spoken loudly about her results while in the ward.
