By the time you decide to commit suicide, it’s probably because life has gotten you to the place of no return, right? If your suicide mission fails, and you are arrested, doesn’t that make life even harder for you?
Well, in Kenya, if you unsuccessfully try to commit suicide, you will be looking at a jail term.
A 40-year old woman was today arrested after she attempted to commit suicide in Sugutek village, Bureti sub-county, over stress-related issues.
According to Kapkisiara Location Chief Lazarus Kirui, the woman tried to take her own life by hanging herself using a mosquito net. The administrator said the woman’s five-year-old son found her dangling from the rafters and kicking in the air while groaning in pain upon entering the house.
The young boy raised the alarm and called the neighbours who got to the scene and rescued the woman just in time. The neighbours administered first aid to the woman who was unconscious but is shocking is that after regaining conciousness, she attempted to take poison but was restrained.
The area chief, afterwards, rushed the woman to Roret sub-district Hospital where she was treated and later discharged. She was then transferred to Roret Police Station where she is being held awaiting to be arraigned in Court.
According to the Penal Code, any person who attempts to kill himself/herself is guilty of a misdemeanor. The penalty is up to two years in prison or a fine or both.
“The State looks at life of any human being as sacred. Your life therefore is not yours alone but shared with others in the society: like your brothers, sisters, children, spouse, parents and friends. The lives of these other people may depend on yours. You therefore don’t have the right to end it,” explains Donald Rabala, a lawyer at Rabala and Company advocates in Upper Hill, Nairobi.