Three judges of the Court of Appeal recently called for a candid national conversation on the age of consent for sex. Above all, any actions arising from it must be taken in the best interest of the child — bearing in mind that Kenya has signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and domesticated it by enacting the Children Act. It should shock our national conscience that a proposal to lower the age of consent should come from our courts. ENDANGERINGIn Kenya, the age for sexual consent is not defined; it’s assumed to be 18 years as the Children Act 2001 defines a child as ‘any person below age of eighteen’. Under the draft guidelines, the age of sexual consent should remain at 18 years.

Source: Daily Nation March 28, 2019 21:33 UTC