Criminalisation of attempted suicide: an examination of Section 226 of the Kenyan Penal Code

Abstract

Over 800,000 individuals commit suicide every year worldwide with a majority ranging between 15 and 29 years. Kenya is not an exception, with a rate of eleven for every 100,000 inhabitants. The Kenyan Penal Code criminalises suicide as a felony, with Section 226 which considers attempted suicide as a misdemeanour. There is literature stating that a significant number of people who commit suicide, or attempt to commit suicide, have mental health problems as a result of issues that they have faced in life. In basis of such situations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has developed a comprehensive mental health action plan, aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, of reducing the global suicide rate by one third by 2030. In 2023, WHO, in compliance with the action plan adopted a policy brief proposing to decriminalise suicide and suicide attempts. According to the organisation, the challenge faced by the goal of reducing global suicide mortality is the fact that suicide and suicide attempts remain illegal in at least twenty-three countries. For instance, Section 226 of the Kenyan Penal Code punishes the attempted suicide with 2 years’ imprisonment and payment of a fine, or both. The aim of this study is to establish whether the existing laws can be harmonised with international standards in terms of reducing the global suicide mortality rates, the global health action plan by WHO and the recently adopted policy on attempted suicide. The study will use doctrinal research methodology to explore the existing legal framework, such as domestic legislation and international instrument. It will also examine the courts’ application of the legal framework in matters of suicide and attempted suicide. The Interpersonal psychological theory and the Durkheim theory will be applied as theoretical frameworks to analyse the existing laws on attempted suicide as a crime, where recommendations to the law will be made after critical analysis of the same.