National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula told lawmakers that the petition was lodged in his office.
“My office has received a petition from Dr Lukoye Atwoli, a citizen, a professor of psychiatry and Dean at the Aga Khan University calling for repeal of section 226 of the penal code on attempting suicide,” Wetangula stated.
Section 226 of the Penal Code Article 63 classifies suicide as a misdemeanour which is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or with a fine or with both.
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Aga Khan University
In the petition, Lukoye argued that criminalising attempted suicide failed to address the underlying issues of mental health.
He further noted that the criminalisation of the disease exposed its victims to shame and stigma noting that Kenya was among the few countries where attempted suicide is still punishable.
“Criminalising suicide attempts not only fails to address underlying mental health issues but also perpetuates shame and stigma surrounding mental illnesses,” Atwoli argued in the petition.
“Continued application of the provisions contradicts the provision of Article 43 of the Constitution that says, “Every person has the right to the highest attainable standard of health which includes the right to healthcare services including reproductive healthcare and a person shall not be denied emergency medical treatment.”
The petitioner, therefore, seeks to repeal section 226 of the Penal Code Cap 63 to decriminalise attempted suicide.
“Section 226 read together with section 36 is unreasonable and potentially creates a barrier towards access to the highest attainable standard of mental health care and emergency treatment,” the petitioner argued.
Atwoli, therefore, forwarded the Public Petitions Committee for consideration and directed its members to report its findings to the National Assembly as well as the petitioner.
Criminalisation of suicide in Kenya has been a thorny issues that attracted several petitions in the past, a majority of whom classified it as a disease.
A section, however, opposed its decriminalisation arguing that not all cases were mental, some were an escape route after committing a heinous crime.
“There need to be an examination. Sometimes (the reasons for suicide) may also be criminal to try avoid due process. You want to kill yourself quickly because you have committed a more serious and heinous offense,” Tharaka MP and Lawyer George Murugara told Parliament in response to the petition.
