Kenya Undecided on Bid to Abolish Law Making Suicide Attempt a Crime

The Kenyan government is in a dilemma on whether to pronounce attempted suicide as a crime or negate it. 

The Attorney General and the Ministry of Health during individual responses to the High Court both maintained different viewpoints on the issue. The Ministry of Health pushes for the abolishment of section 226 of the Penal Code which criminalises attempted suicide.  However, the AG wants the High Court to disregard a case filed by  Kenya Psychiatrists Association, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHRC) and Charity Muturi. The government's advisor wants the court to dismiss the case on the grounds that the case does not involve any infraction of rights. 

“The respondent has not at any time violated the rights of the petitioners or the class represented by the petitioner. Judicial intervention should be limited to acts manifestly in breach of the law or where the court is satisfied that the decision-maker reached a wrong decision influenced by other considerations other than the law, evidence, and the duty to serve the interest of justice,” the AG reasons. 

The Health Ministry has proclaimed its efforts to make the country change its tact in dealing with attempted suicide cases. The Director General of Health Dr Patrick Amoth said that a 2020 task force revealed that at least 20 of the people who committed suicide had initially attempted suicide. In harmony with Section 226 of the Penal Code, anyone who attempts suicide is guilty of a misdemeanour and deserves a 2-year jail term, a fine or both. 

The petitioners suggest that the court should dismiss the section, arguing that a person who attempts suicide needs a diagnosis and not a criminal punishment.