THAT the Kenya society has gradually shifted its focus from the boychild to girls thereby making the male gender seem like a species undersiege is an open secret. The same is amplified by some outrightly biased provisions of the Sexual Offences Act,2006 which critics say is skewed against boys with girls being portrayed as victims and boys as villains. The apparent discriminatory application of the law has prompted civil society groups to describe the Act as insensitive, offensive and atrocious to the boy child.
One such civil society lobby group is Sauti ya Wanaume na Watoto whose CEO James Mumbi says that the Act should be reviewed in order to cushion men from wanton victimisation noting that majority of boys and men currently serving life imprisonment for defilement and rape were jailed without fair hearings. “Boy child is under siege.Men are being framed for serious offences such as sodomy,rape and mostly defilement after petty disputes or rejected sexual advances from women,” he said.
Speaking to Kiambu Observer in Kiambu town, Mumbi accused courts of failing to give defilement suspects opportunities to defend themselves conclusively before sending them to jail. “We feel like defilement cases are normally predetermined because when a suspect is arraigned, courts directs that they first undergo mental check up. But even before the ink dries, the case is determined and the suspect sent to jail,” he said.
Mumbi accused women of weaponizing defilement and rape aiming at punishing men adding that the same had increased murder cases in the country. “There is this spirit of poverty among greedy women today. They are maliciously framing their husbands so that they be jailed giving them an opportunity to sell family property and remarry,” said Mumbi.
In retrospect, when the Sexual Offences Act Number 3 of 2006 was enacted, parents jubilated and thanked the government for making a bold move tailored to protect women and children from sex predators. Little did they know that the Act which covers rape, attempted rape, sexual assault and creation and distribution of child pornography as well as incest would later become a monster of sending their teenage sons into the gallows.
Today, thousands of teenage boys and men are serving life imprisonment for being implicated in both trumped up and real sexual offences charges. Having realised that the Act prescribes stiff penalties for suspects, jilted female lovers are abusing the Act by implicating their hubbies in ‘fake’ sexual offences with their under age daughters. Disgruntled family members are also unjustly implicating each other’s kids in incestuous activities with boys bearing the blunt.
Those in prison for defilement and those already out after either completing their jail terms or through appeals insist that they were unfairly judged and imprisoned. One such former prisoners,who spoke on grounds of anonymity asserts, “I was jailed for allegedly defiling and underage girl yet the prosecution didn’t conduct a DNA test to establish whether i indeed had carnal knowledge with the victim. I never and can’t do such a beastly act because am also a parent”.
Added he,” I can tell you without fear of contradiction that majority of men in prison for defilement were framed. They are not given an opportunity to defend themselves conclusively”. Another 19 years old stated how he was arrested and charged with trumped up charges of indecent assault yet its the victims, both high school girls who had forcefully taken refuge in his house.
“I was relaxing in my house when a girl whom I knew came with her friend. I thought they would take an hour or two and leave but much to my chagrin, they said that they would sleep over,” he said. He narrated that the girls,who he didn’t know were students extended their stay into days until neighbours became suspicious and reported him to the police.
“I was taken aback when I heard an unusual knock on my door and upon opening it, i was met by two police officers accompanied by two ladies, who later introduced themselves as the girl’s parents,” he said. He was bundled into a waiting police vehicle alongside the two students and was later taken to a court of law charged with having sexual intercourse with underage girls.
Lawyers and human rights crusaders have since called upon the government to amend the Act in order to address such challenges as distinguishing between cases of coercion and consensual acts among adolescents. The challenge has led to the imprisonment of young boys involved in sexual affairs with girls their age or where age disparity is insignificant.
They also want the Act to be amended to address the imposition of lengthy mandatory minimum sentences for sexual offences against adolescents when cases involve teenagers who consent. Lawyer Mbuthia Karanja while calling for the review of the Act notes that there are also cases where girls deceives an adult into believing they are older whereas they are under age.
“There also ought to be a legislative review to address the age of consent to avoid unjust imprisonment in consensual teenage relationships,” he told PD digital. He also opined that the Act should be amended with a view of incorporating measures for emerging social media threat such as cyberstalking.
Media personality Simon Kibe of Jamba TV who is famed for interviewing inmates in various correctional centres in the country affirms that majority of the males in them are in prison for sexual offences,mainly defilement. “Its unforunate to see thousands of men crowding the county’s prisons are boys and men who were sentenced for defilement. Rape cases are actually very limited,” he said.
A parent, Zipporah Nyokabi cautioned men and boys to be wary of girls irrespective of their age. “Boys and men should avoid girls like plague even if they approach them for affairs lest they land them in jail,” she advised.
