The KNHCR has called for an amendment of the Penal Code stating criminal liability for people who attempt suicide.
This comes when the government is planning to arrest and prosecute the followers of Paul Mackenzie. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNHCR) faulted the government for considering taking this direction.
Proposals on how to deal with the controversial preacher’s followers are still being submitted. In regards to the law, if someone attempts suicide and therefore survives, they are liable to be charged with attempting to murder themselves. According to the commission, the followers of the cult ought to be taken to a mental clinic and not prison.
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Tana River Senator, Danson Mungatana is leading the committee in the investigation of the Shakahola deaths and religious extremism. KNHCR Commissioner, Mariam Mutungi presented their case to the senator. She mentioned that some fundamental human rights and freedoms need to be given to the survivors. According to the commission, the survivors of Shakahola had their human rights and freedoms violated by the controversial preacher.
Professor Mutungi added that according to science, many people who attempt suicide are victims of mental illness. She said that instead of prosecuting suicidal people, they should be taken to mental care facilities instead. For this to be possible, the Penal Code stating criminal liability of suicidal people ought to be amended.
” The continued criminalisation of attempted suicide has not and does not deter the practice. It instead exacerbates stigma against persons with mental health conditions, preventing them from seeking help,” Prof Mutungi said
In addition to the presentation, they pointed out that charging the survivors will further traumatize them. They will be sent to congested prisons and push them to try to commit suicide again. To the commission, imprisoning and prosecuting the survivors will not help them with their mental illness.
The role of the prison system is to rehabilitate the criminals sent to the facility. According to the commission, sending the survivors to prison will not rehabilitate them but further aggravate them to commit suicide again.
Read Also: Shakahola Victims Turned Suspects: Attempted Suicide
