MPs back petition seeking decriminalisation of attempted suicide
National Assembly Public Petitions Committee has backed a 2024 petition by Dr Lukoye Atwoli seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide.
The National Assembly Public Petitions Committee has backed a 2024 petition by Dr Lukoye Atwoli seeking to decriminalise attempted suicide.
Presented to the House by Speaker Moses Wetangula on August 13, 2024, the petition sought to repeal Section 226 of the Penal Code, which criminalises attempted suicide.
The committee, while tabling the petition to the house on Tuesday, thus recommended that the section be repealed to align Kenya with global commitments such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030 and the Kenya Mental Health Action Plan 2021–2025, both of which single out decriminalisation of the act as a key strategy in suicide prevention.
Atwoli, a Professor of Psychiatry, argued in the petition that attempted suicide is a mental health issue rather than a criminal offence, and thus, punishing survivors only compounds stigma, deterring those affected from seeking much-needed treatment.
He further noted that the criminalisation contradicted the rights to health and dignity guaranteed under Articles 27, 28 and 43 of the Constitution, all of which guarantee equal treatment of all citizens.
Article 27 ensures equality and freedom from discrimination based on grounds such as race, sex, age, and disability, Article 28 establishes the right to inherent human dignity, requiring it to be respected and protected, and Article 43 guarantees economic and social rights, including rights to health, housing, food, water, and social security for all Kenyans.
He had further highlighted that Kenya was among the few countries that still enforce what he called colonial-era law and drew similarities to the United Kingdom, which has since repealed a similar law.
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In the UK, the law now recognises attempted suicide as a medical emergency that requires treatment and support rather than prosecution.
This recommendation by the committee comes months after the High Court declared as unconstitutional sections of the country’s laws that criminalise attempted suicide in a ruling delivered by Justice Lawrence Mugambi on January 9.
“It is my finding that applying the purpose and effect principle of constitutional interpretation, section 226 of the penal code offends article 27 of the constitution by criminalising a mental health issue, thereby endorsing discrimination on the basis of health, which is unconstitutional,” Mugambi ruled.
“It also indignifies and disgraces victims of suicide ideation in the eyes of the community for actions that are beyond their mental control.”
The ruling came after a court petition by a lobby group led by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) and the Kenya Psychiatric Association.
Section 226 of the Penal Code provides that any person who attempts to kill self is guilty of a misdemeanour and is subject to imprisonment of up to two years, a fine, or both, with the minimum age of prosecution for the offence set at eight years old.
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