Kenyans showed their outrage on social media, sharing their views on a proposal by the country’s court of appeal to lower the age of consent from 18 to 16.
Three judges, while reversing a 15-year-sentence of a man who impregnated a 17-year-old girl, ruled that it was high time the country considered a revision of the Sexual Offences Act. Arguing that it is unrealistic to assume that teenagers and maturing adults do not engage in sex, the
“Our prisons are teeming with young men serving lengthy sentences for having had sexual intercourse with adolescent girls whose consent has been held to be immaterial because they were under 18 years,” the judges ruled. We need to add as we dispose of this appeal that the Act does cry out for a serious re-examination in a sober and pragmatic manner.”
The age of consent in Africa for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across the continent. It ranges from age 12 in South Africa to age 18.
By MissMJ – Cropped from Age of Consent – Global.svg., CC0, Link
