CJ Koome Proposes Bill to Remove Jail Sentences for Attempted Suicide
If Chief Justice Martha Koome’s proposition is approved, Kenyans who survive a suicide attempt may receive health support rather than a prison sentence.
The Chief Justice proposed in the Penal Code (Amendment) 2023 that section 226 of the Penal Code, which classifies attempted suicide as a misdemeanor, be repealed.
“Any person who attempts to kill himself is guilty of a misdemeanor,” reads the Penal Code.
In her proposition to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, the Chief Justice advocated for repealing the entire section of the Primary Act.
According to the Act, anyone convicted of attempting suicide faced up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.
The provision had angered lobby groups for years, who argued that jailing individuals for suicide attempts constituted punishing those with mental illness.
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The Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) asked the Adhoc Committee on the Proliferation of Religious Organisations to decriminalize the increasing number of suicide attempts at the beginning of the year.
KNHRC argued that individuals who attempt suicide are suffering from mental illness and should be hospitalized.
A commissioner, Professor Mariam Mutugi, argued that the decision to apprehend and arraign survivors of Paul Mackenzie’s Goodnews International Church was incorrect.
At the time the submissions were submitted, the Ad hoc committee was investigating the deaths of Shakahola.
Mutugi told the committee, “Science has confirmed that individuals who attempt suicide have mental illness.”
“The same science has determined that an individual with a sound mind can never endeavor to take their own life. People with suicidal tendencies should be taken to medical care facilities rather than prosecuted. They require aid.”
A petition to decriminalize suicide attempts was also lodged by the KNHRC on behalf of the Global Mental Health Network, which works to promote mental health worldwide.
CJ Koome Proposes Bill to Remove Jail Sentences for Attempted Suicide
