Ladnan Hospital ordered to pay woman Sh3 million for ovaries removal
Courts
By
Fred Kagonye
| Dec 20, 2025
Ladnan Hospital. [Kanyiri Wahito Standard]
A hospital has been ordered to pay a woman more than Sh3 million following the removal of both her ovaries without her consent.
LNW won the case after the judge found that her rights had been violated when her ovaries were removed by Dr Lazrus Omondi Kumba at the Ladnan Hospital in Nairobi.
In his judgment, Justice Lawrence Mugambi declared that the doctor had breached the Constitution and LNW ’s rights.
“A declaration is hereby issued that the petitioner’s unwarranted removal of both her ovaries in the circumstances of this case violated her rights under Article 43(1)(a) of the Constitution, which guarantees the petitioner the highest standards of healthcare, the right to inherent human dignity under Article 28, and protection from psychological or mental torture under Article 29(d) of the Constitution,” said the judge.
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LNW had sued Kumba, Ladnan Hospital, and the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC).
In her case, she stated that she was diagnosed with fibroids in 2013 at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital, and in 2018, her pain worsened. When she returned to the facility, she was advised to have her uterus removed.
She could not undergo the procedure at Mama Lucy's at the time due to a lack of available blood. On August 1, 2019, she returned to the facility and was attended by Dr Kumba, who told her he would perform the surgery at another facility (Ladnan) because it would take too long to secure admission at Mama Lucy or Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).
LNW said that Kumba assured her that the now-defunct National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) would cover her medical bills.
She underwent the procedure, and the following day, Kumba allegedly visited her with a bowl containing organs removed during surgery, telling her that he had removed the uterus and a single ovary.
This shocked her, as previous medical tests conducted at Mama Lucy had shown that her ovaries were healthy.
LNW said Kumba asked her to pay Sh20,000 to have the specimens sent to South Africa for testing and that she would only be allowed to leave the facility after making the payment.
She added that all her previous tests had been conducted at Lancet Laboratories, but Kumba insisted she visit his clinic in Nairobi’s CBD for further care instead of returning to Mama Lucy.
She approached KMPDC, which found that the doctor had not sought consent and called for mediation to compensate her with Sh250,000.
When these demands were not met, she moved to court.
In her petition, she stated that as a result of the procedure, she had become reliant on blood pressure medication, experienced reduced libido affecting her sex life, separated from her partner, and suffered from depression.
In his response, Dr Kumba argued that the claim was time-barred and that it was a medical negligence case disguised as a constitutional petition.
He said that when LNW arrived at Ladnan, he explained that NHIF would only cover the surgery and that she would have to pay for any additional tests herself. He claimed that he explained the nature of the surgery and obtained her consent for the removal of the uterus.
During the procedure, he allegedly discovered tumours in both her ovaries and decided to remove them as they could have been cancerous.
Kumba said he could not seek consent while she was under anaesthesia but informed her the following morning and advised her to carry out histology tests.
In its response, Ladnan stated that Kumba was not their employee but an independent contractor. She was admitted as a private patient.