The family of Dr George Rae, the former chief executive officer of Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral Hospital, is requesting assistance in raising Sh20 million to pay a medical bill that accumulated during his treatment in South Korea.

According to reports, Dr Rae, a health advisor with the Kisumu County Department of Medical Services, became unwell while on a work-related tour in the East Asian nation and passed away while receiving treatment. Until the amount is paid in full, his body cannot be sent home.

Dr George Rae led the Kisumu County Department of Medical Services’ partnerships and resource mobilisation department until his passing.

The family states that Dr Rae departed on November 30, 2025, for a work-related tour to South Korea, and all they have left is a photo taken on December 4, 2025, just minutes before he unexpectedly became ill.

“George Rae was well, and that is why he was part of a delegation to Korea to go and discuss with Koreans some of the proposed development programs for the county and for LREB. They were on a tour of, I am told, the parliament buildings. When they were coming out, as he was getting into the bus, he fell, was breathless, and emergency services were called, and he was taken to a nearby hospital,” the family’s spokesperson said.

According to the family, Dr Rae was admitted to two major South Korean hospitals’ intensive care units prior to his death on December 26, 2025, at approximately 7pm Kenyan time.

Before they can take his body home, they must now raise almost Sh20 million to cover the medical expenses and daily mortuary fees.

“The county wasn’t clear on the extent of responsibility it would take. The bill was amounting to over Sh17 million, out of which about Sh3 million had been paid from the money that KMA and the family had sent to Korea,” the spokesperson added.

Dr Rae was the CEO of the Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu before to joining the county’s medical services department. Dr Rae was the CEO of the Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu before to joining the county’s medical services department.

According to a tribute provided by the hospital, “Papa,” as he was fondly known, pioneered the Sickle Cell Zero movement and the formation of Warrior Support Groups.

In addition to other revolutionary facilities, such as an oxygen plant that supplied wards with life-saving pipes during the Covid-19 pandemic, he is praised for making bone marrow transplant procedures available at the facility.