Wamunyu Law Courts Senior Resident Magistrate Pascal Nabwana has cautioned members of the public against offences involving children, warning that Kenyan law prescribes stiff penalties, including life imprisonment for some of the most serious offences.
Nabwana shared a public legal awareness message on offences against children and the penalties prescribed under the law, citing the Sexual Offences Act, the Children Act, 2022, and the Penal Code.
He emphasised that offences against children must be handled through the criminal justice system rather than settled privately by families or community elders.
Under Section 8 of the Sexual Offences Act, defilement of a child aged 11 years or below attracts life imprisonment. Defilement of a child aged between 12 and 15 years carries a minimum sentence of 20 years, while that involving a child aged between 16 and 18 years carries a minimum of 15 years.
Attempted defilement attracts a minimum of 10 years' imprisonment, while gang defilement carries a minimum of 15 years, which may be enhanced to life imprisonment.
An indecent act with a child attracts a minimum of 10 years' imprisonment under Section 11 of the Act.
Other offences include child prostitution, which attracts a minimum of 10 years, and child trafficking for sexual offences, which carries a minimum of 10 years under Section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act.
Child pornography attracts a minimum of six years' imprisonment or a fine of at least Sh500,000, or both. A subsequent conviction carries a minimum of seven years without the option of a fine.
Incest involving a child attracts life imprisonment under Section 20 of the Sexual Offences Act.
The Children Act, 2022, also criminalises harmful practices against children, including child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Under Section 23, offenders face a minimum of three years' imprisonment, a fine of at least Sh500,000, or both.
The Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation Act, 2011, separately prescribes a minimum of three years' imprisonment,
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