Nairobi: Rights groups and doctors on Friday welcomed a ruling by Kenya’s high court that declared it unconstitutional to treat suicide attempts as a crime.
Suicide remains illegal in the east African country, with those who attempt it facing a misdemeanour charge that can lead to a fine and up to two years in jail.
The World Bank estimated that in 2019, roughly six out of 100,000 Kenyans could be expected to eventually kill themselves, prompting the launch of a mental health initiative by the government in 2022.
On Thursday, the high court said the law was “endorsing discrimination on the basis of health which is unconstitutional.”
The ruling still requires the attorney general to initiate the process to formally repeal that section of the penal code.
The Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), which joined the petition to the high court, welcomed a “significant milestone”.
It was a “rallying call for an open and candid conversation” about mental health, and “goes a long way in raising awareness, fighting stigma and discrimination,” it said.
Chitayi Murabula, president of the Kenya Psychiatric Association, wrote on X that the ruling should lead to “the immediate release of all patients in custody on account of attempted suicide” and a fast-tracking of a bill currently in parliament to decriminalise other aspects of mental illness.
Around 11 people per 100,000 die by suicide annually across Africa, higher than the global average of nine, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
It launched a campaign in 2022 to raise awareness of the issues around mental health, specifically suicide.
“Studies show that in Africa for each completed suicide, there are an estimated 20 attempted ones,” the WHO said at the time.
