A Kenyan court has ruled that sections of the country’s Sexual Offences Act cannot be applied to minors found to have engaged in consensual intercourse, in a landmark decision that rights groups say could transform how adolescent relationships are treated in Kenya.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday by Justice Bahati Mwamuye, found that existing provisions of the law should not be used to criminalise consensual peer relationships between teenagers.
The case was filed in August 2025 by the Centre for Reproductive Rights and the Reproductive Health Network Kenya on behalf of three adolescents, alongside the Network for Adolescent and Youth of Africa.
The petition challenged four sections of the Sexual Offences Act, arguing that the law failed to distinguish between exploitation and consensual relationships among minors, leading to arrests, detention, and prosecution of teenagers engaging in peer relationships.
Two cited cases formed part of the challenge: a 17-year-old boy charged with defilement after being found with his 16-year-old girlfriend, and another 17-year-old who faced prosecution following a pregnancy linked to a peer relationship, although charges were later withdrawn.
In his judgment, Justice Mwamuye ordered that the cases be stayed and not proceed in their current form, effectively halting prosecution under the contested provisions for consensual adolescent conduct.
Legal experts and rights advocates say the ruling could set an important precedent in shaping juvenile justice and sexual offence enforcement in Kenya, especially in balancing child protection with adolescent autonomy.
Under Kenyan law, individuals aged 18 and above are considered adults, but the court noted that applying criminal statutes to consensual teenage relationships had created legal and social complications.
Rights groups welcomed the decision, arguing that it would reduce fear-driven policing and improve access to confidential sexual and reproductive health services for young people.
Victor Rasugu, executive director of NAYA Kenya, said adolescents had been living in fear of arrest even in consensual situations, calling for broader reforms of the Sexual Offences Act.
Authorities, however, have previously defended the law, saying strict enforcement is necessary to protect minors from exploitation and prevent adult predators from abusing legal loopholes.
Advocacy groups say the ruling now places pressure on lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to clearly separate exploitation cases from consensual peer relationships, and to reform how such cases are handled going forward.
