The Kenya Medical Association has condemned what it describes as a growing trend of politicians and public figures staging photography sessions, live broadcasts, and media events inside hospitals for political gain and personal promotion.
In a statement, the doctors’ umbrella body warned that filming or photographing patients in wards, corridors, and other patient-facing areas violates constitutional rights to privacy and dignity and undermines ethical standards in healthcare.
KMA said the practice has increasingly turned healthcare facilities into “campaign venues” at the expense of vulnerable patients who often lack the power or awareness to object.
“Patients are not props, hospital wards are not campaign venues, and human suffering is not content,” the association said.
The association argued that such actions are neither advocacy nor public service, but exploitative practices that compromise confidentiality and respectful care.
According to KMA, hospitals and medical workspaces must be accorded dignity and protected from political interference.
The doctors’ body cited several legal and ethical frameworks it said are being violated through unauthorised filming and photography in health facilities.
It pointed to Articles 28 and 31 of the Constitution of Kenya, which guarantee the rights to human dignity and privacy, respectively.
KMA also referenced the Data Protection Act, 2019, noting that health information is classified as sensitive personal data and cannot be recorded or broadcast without explicit informed consent from the patient.
“The Health Act, 2017, further establishes statutory rights to privacy, confidentiality, and dignified treatment,” the association added.
At the professional level, KMA said the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council Code of Professional Conduct and the World Medical Association Declaration of Geneva obligate healthcare workers to uphold patient dignity and shield medical spaces from political intrusion.
The association particularly expressed concern over poor and vulnerable patients in public hospitals, saying many may not fully understand their rights or may feel unable to refuse photography by powerful individuals.
“Their vulnerability makes our obligation to protect them greater, not lesser,” KMA said.
The doctors’ lobby demanded that politicians and public figures immediately stop conducting media events, photo opportunities, and live streams in clinical and patient-facing areas.
It also called on hospital administrators to enforce strict no-filming policies and ensure informed consent is obtained before any photography involving patients is conducted.
KMA urged health facilities to designate staff with authority to stop or penalise visitors who compromise patient dignity, regardless of their social or political status.
The association further called on the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council to issue formal guidance declaring that facilitating political filming in healthcare settings amounts to professional misconduct.
It also urged the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to investigate incidents already circulating in the public domain.
“The ODPC must investigate incidents in the public domain and publish enforcement guidance specific to patient data in healthcare settings,” the statement said.
In addition, KMA called on both national and county governments to enact regulations criminalising the filming or broadcasting of patients without documented informed consent.
The association also encouraged healthcare workers to resist pressure from politicians or influential individuals seeking access to clinical areas for publicity purposes.
“To the Kenyan healthcare practitioner: you have both the right and the duty to protect your patients from violations of privacy, dignity, and political intrusion,” KMA said.
