A Litany for survival: a proposal to amend Kenya’s Penal Code to decriminalise theft of food for survival
Date
2024
Authors
Waris, N.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
In the tapestry of human civilisation, the urgency of survival has woven itself as a fundamental thread, shaping the contours of law, morality, and societal norms. This imperative gains particular urgency in the realm of criminal law, where the stakes involve actions that endanger life and well-being. Within this context emerges the predicament of food theft for survival – a poignant reflection of the intersection between legal frameworks, moral imperatives, and human desperation. In light of the pervasive food insecurity and poverty in Kenya, this study aims to examine whether Section 269 of the Penal Code of Kenya (Cap 63) should be amended to decriminalise theft of food in instances where survival prevails. This will be accomplished firstly against the backdrop of contrasting moralities between African and Western societies. Here, the study seeks to unravel the communal ethos prevalent in traditional African reasoning, where certain communities historically exhibited leniency towards theft driven by hunger, contrasting this perspective with the individualistic criminalisation of theft inherent in the Western legal framework. This study posits that dissenters of this premise can find further justification for the decriminalisation of food theft within the underlying principles of criminal law defences, such as self-defence and necessity. It contends that these principles, commonly invoked to justify criminal defences rooted in the imperative of survival, can extend to the decriminalisation of food theft, highlighting the feasibility of integrating this amendment within the framework of criminal law.
Description
Full - text undergraduate research project
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Citation
Waris, N. (2024). A Litany for survival: A proposal to amend Kenya’s Penal Code to decriminalise theft of food for survival [Strathmore University]. http://hdl.handle.net/11071/15875