The Civil Division of the High Court has ruled that Mulago Hospital must pay a compensation of Sh50 million to a 47-year-old woman, Fatuma Nakayima, for the psychological torture and trauma she endured when she lost her baby. Justice Phillip Odoki emphasized that Mulago Hospital’s failure to provide Nakayima with her baby after birth and inform her about the baby’s whereabouts violated her rights to health under Article 45 of the Constitution and other International Human Rights Instruments.
Nakayima and the Centre for Health, Human Rights and Development (CEHURD) filed a lawsuit in 2016 against the Executive Director of Mulago Hospital and the Attorney General, seeking the surrender of her baby dead or alive and damages for the violation of human rights. Nakayima, who underwent a cesarean section at Mulago Hospital, was informed that her baby boy had lived briefly and died, but she was never shown the body.
In his judgment, Justice Odoki highlighted Nakayima’s severe psychological torture, affecting her mental well-being, and deemed it a violation of her right to health. Dorothy Amuron, CEHURD’s Acting Director of Programmes, welcomed the ruling, emphasizing the importance of safety in public health facilities and calling for effective mechanisms to trace newborn babies from delivery to departure.
This is not the first time Mulago Hospital has faced such legal action. In 2012, a couple successfully sued the hospital for a missing child, leading to a court order for compensation. CEHURD has been actively involved in cases addressing the accountability of public health facilities for the loss of newborns.
