By DAVID MUCHUIMore by this AuthorA mental health activist has called for the repealing of the section of the penal code that criminalises suicide in Kenya. Award winning Flora Igoki, a Kenyan-Canadian, who fled the country in 2008 after being attacked by political goons, said suicide should be recognised as a health condition. SUICIDE INCIDENTSThe annual Kenya National Bureau of Statistics economic survey lists suicide as a homicide where 177 suicide incidents were reported to the police in 2018 compared to 421 in 2017. Ms Igoki called for allocation of more resources towards mental healthcare in the country to ensure cases of depression that lead to suicide are immediately treated. FIGHT STIGMAThe motivational speaker and author called for concerted efforts to fight mental health stigma that she blamed for rising cases of suicide.

Source: Daily Nation May 19, 2019 09:22 UTC