Good Samaritan law

First Aid & CPR Kenya

The Good Samaritan: compassion and protection

Drawn from the Bible (Luke 10:25-37), the parable of the Good Samaritan tells of a traveller left for dead who is rescued by a stranger that tends to him and sees to his care. Beyond its religious context, it carries a universal message: the moral duty to help others in danger, through compassion and altruism.

Inspired by this principle, many so-called Good Samaritan laws have been enacted around the world to protect those who assist in good faith during an emergency from legal action. The exact scope of that protection, however, varies from one jurisdiction to another: here is what the law applicable to your region provides.

Statute citation

Governing act No dedicated Good Samaritan Act and no general duty to rescue. As a common-law jurisdiction, the Penal Code (Cap. 63), Chapter XX, imposes only narrow duties relating to the preservation of life (persons in charge of another or of dangerous things). The Traffic Act (Cap. 403), s. 73, requires a driver involved in an accident to stop and report. The Health Act, 2017 (s. 7) obliges medical institutions — not bystanders — to provide emergency treatment.
Scope of protection No offence targets a bystander who fails to assist a stranger in danger. Duties to act are confined to charge/custody relationships and control of dangerous things; the driver's duty (s. 73) is to stop and report, with no express obligation to render medical aid. The Health Act's emergency-treatment duty falls on health institutions.
Duty to rescue No
AED liability protection No
No legal duty to rescue

Your protection under the law

Kenya has no dedicated Good Samaritan Act and no general duty to rescue a stranger. As a common-law jurisdiction, it measures a good-faith rescuer against the standard of reasonable conduct in an emergency; the Penal Code (Cap. 63) sets only narrow duties tied to the preservation of life, while the Health Act, 2017 (s. 7) places the emergency-treatment obligation on medical institutions, not bystanders. The Traffic Act (Cap. 403, s. 73) requires a driver involved in an accident to stop and report.

No duty to act, but every reason to

No offence targets a bystander who fails to assist a stranger in danger: in Kenya, helping remains a choice, not a legal obligation. A driver's duty is confined to stopping and reporting the accident, with no express requirement to render care. Someone who nonetheless decides to step in, sensibly and in good faith, has no reason to fear being treated harshly for the act.

Why training matters

The law may be silent, but biology is unforgiving: in cardiac arrest, every minute without resuscitation drops the chance of survival by roughly 10 percent. In Kenya, where help can take long minutes to arrive, the person on the scene is the first link in the chain of survival — the one whose early action matters most. Learning CPR and first aid means giving yourself the means to act rather than watch. It is a skill modest in the time it takes to learn, yet immense in what it makes possible: giving someone their life back.