The High Court admits ISER and the CRR as ‘friends-of-court’ in the matter of Alinda Khyrst (suing through the next friend Alinda Bridgers Mugenyi) and Aturinda Solome versus Roswell Women and Children Hospital. The case seeks to challenge the widespread yet unlawful practice of detaining women and their newborns in private health facilities due to unpaid medical bills.
Although the final ruling in the main suit is pending before the High Court, the Court’s acceptance of ISER and CRR as amicus curiae is itself a groundbreaking step. The Court will now be guided by the constitutional, human rights, and gender-justice-based analysis presented in our submissions, which has the potential to shape the outcome of the case and future jurisprudence in Uganda. The result so far speculatively signals important gains: recognition of obstetric violence as a legal and human rights concern and greater visibility of hospital detentions as systemic violations, not private financial disputes.
Amicus Ruling ISER and CRR – Delivered March 4, 2025