Kenyans online continue to air their opposition to the Sexual Offences Act that seeks to reduce the age of consent from 18 to 16 years.
Yesterday, three Court of Appeal judges, Judges Roselyn Nambuye, Daniel Musinga and Patrick Kiage, ruled that it is time for the country to change the Sexual Offences Act, saying that lengthy sentences have been given to young men found guilty of defilement.
Read more below.
Court of Appeal wants age of consent in Kenya reduced to 16 years
This comes even after Inmates at Kenyan prisons’ support the review on the Sexual Offences Act saying that most of them are behind bars on flimsy grounds.
Some have argued that, exploitation of this law are not new as some parents, especially a girl’s parent have been known to use this law to put teenage boys who had ‘consensual’ sex with their daughters, behind bars.
However, Kenyans online have emphatically said NO.
Here are some reactions from Kenyans opposing the review of the Act.
It’s unconscionable that we can be contemplating, imagining or discussing lowering the age of consent to 16 . The target can only be to marry off or do unprintable things to our under age girls. No way!
— Mutula KilonzoJR CBS (@GvnMutula) March 27, 2019
This country is SICKENING.
A 16 year old has no mental, psychological, economic apparatus in place to have consensual sex. What the hell?— Wordslinger | Kas Ka Gan | Mother of Dragons (@Wordslinger__) March 27, 2019
The judges are asking for the law to change instead of practising proper jurisprudence, or whatever lawyers call it. If you have two 17 year olds having sex, it's stupid to haul them to court. The police and judges are ridiculing a law so that we remove protections altogether.
— #LandIsNotProperty Mwalimu Wandia (@wmnjoya) March 27, 2019
Let's say the average age of girls who are impregnated in their teens is 16 years old, I am very sure the average age for those responsible for the pregnancy is higher than 16.
The problem is not the teens, it is the sex predators
— Mr. B (@Benogola) March 27, 2019
The age of consent should NOT be reduced to 16. Last year, almost all the 12,000 girls who were impregnated in Kilifi had an average age of 16. The age of consent should remain at 18 if we want to have a future for our girls!
— Business Watch (@Business254_) March 26, 2019
Before govt even considers the problematic idea of lowering the age of consent they need to ensure adequate sex education is being provided. Cause lowering it just allows children to get taken advantage of in our setting.
— Tugen girl (@tugengirl) March 27, 2019
https://twitter.com/shiku_nyambura/status/1110473191305154560
Our courts are now importing cut and paste practices from the west and forcing them down our throats in the name of best practices sad this 16 years age of consent is terrible @matundura78 @simba_felix @NelsonHavi @SenMutula
— Dr Andrew Suleh MD (@andrewsuleh) March 26, 2019
Kenya is one of the greatest destination for tourists seeking sex with children.
I can only think this govt's obsession with "tourists" is their motivation for suggesting lowering the age of consent
— Mr. B (@Benogola) March 27, 2019
