KAMPALA.The family of a Primary Six pupil at Greenhill Academy –Buwaate campus who died on November 12, 2025 is stuck after the management of a private hospital declined to release his body due to an outstanding medical bill .
TMR International Hospital in Naalya, a Kampala suburb which treated the boy for three weeks is demanding 150 million to release the body .
The pupil whose names are withheld because is a minor died early this week after sustaining severe injuries he sustained on October 22 after reportedly falling from a storied classroom block at school .
Currently, the deceased’s body is being kept in a funeral home under the hospital’s custody.
According to family members , hospital management indicated that they want at least half of the bill cleared before they release the body .
Fundraising efforts are underway among family members, friends and the Greenhill School community in an effort to meet the required amount. At a vigil on Wednesday evening, members of the Greenhill Academy community expressed sympathy and pledged continued support to the family. Representatives who attended said the parents appreciated the assistance offered so far by the school community.
The Greenhill Parents’ Committee is coordinating fundraising across different class groups, with the goal of presenting a consolidated contribution to help the family proceed with burial arrangements once the body is released.
Initially, the family had tentatively planned to conduct the burial tomorrow, Saturday in Mukono, but the date may change depending on how quickly the funds are secured .
Efforts to obtain comment from the hospital regarding the current case were unsuccessful, as calls to management went unanswered.
The issue of hospitals retaining bodies over unpaid medical bills has been a subject of public discussion in Uganda. It became pronounced during the Covid -19 pandemic when several private hospitals around Kampala withheld bodies of prominent individuals over accumulated medicals bills which the families had to clear before receiving the bodies of their loved ones for burial .