Judges split on age of consent and punishment

Kenyans debate on sexual offences law, sentencing, and justice system reform shaping criminal law policy. [iStock]

In 2019, the Court of Appeal sparked debate over whether Kenya was imposing overly harsh punishment on teenagers involved in sexual relationships and whether the age of consent should be lowered 18  or 16 years.

While the Supreme Court declared mandatory death sentence was illegal, the lower courts followed with declarations that Sexual Offences Act was also unconstitutional for having mandatory sentences.