Expectant woman who attempted to kill herself spared jail time
The magistrate also released her to the custody of her mother without requiring her to deposit security with the court.
What you need to know:
- On March 25, the woman had thought she had had enough and that her only available option was to end her life.
- To achieve this, she tied a lesso to a tree and tried to hang herself.
When Amina (*not her real name) pleaded guilty to the offence of attempting to kill herself, she knew that Shimo la Tewa Women’s Prison would be her next home for at least two years.
But as fate would have it, she was spared jail time, with the court saying she needs counselling rather than incarceration.
Had Shanzu Principal Magistrate Yusuf Shikanda restricted himself to the provisions of the law, Ms Amina would now be in the Coast region’s largest prison for attempting to end her life.
Section 226 of the Penal Code stipulates that a person who attempts to kill himself or herself is guilty of a misdemeanour and can be imprisoned for up to two years or fined or both.
On March 25, Ms Amina had thought she had had enough and that her only available option was to end her life. To achieve this, she tied a lesso to a tree and tried to hang herself.
But before the lesso could squeeze life out of her, she was rescued and taken back home. Several days later, the family asked the woman and her husband to go to a police station for advice.
After explaining to the police why they were at the station, the woman was arrested and detained. On Thursday last week, the woman was arraigned in a Shanzu court to face the criminal charge of attempted suicide.
Charge sheet
The charge sheet reads that the suspect attempted to take her own life in Mtwapa by hanging herself from a tree with a lesso.
She told the court that she wanted to end her life because her husband had refused to take her to college as he had earlier promised.
“He has made me pregnant. He was to take me to college but he hasn’t done that. I got annoyed and thought of ending my life,” she said.
But the magistrate noted that the woman required counselling instead of being sent to jail.
“The suspect is hereby referred to the probation office for counselling,” Mr Shikanda said.
He also released her to the custody of her mother without requiring her to deposit security with the court.
“My finding is that the suspect requires counselling and support as opposed to punishment,” the magistrate said.
The matter will be mentioned on May 19 for a report on the progress of the counselling.
*Her name has been changed to protect her from stigma often associated with suicide.
