The Atheists In Kenya Society has praised Chief Justice Martha Koome for proposing lesser punishment for prostitution through the Penal Code Amendment Bill 2023.
The society, through its President, Harrison Mumia, welcomed the proposal to delete Sections 153, 154 and 155 of the Penal Code, which imposes a prison sentence of up to 3 years for sex workers. CJ Koome made the proposals via the National Council on the Administration of Justice, which she chairs.
''Prostitution, according to this draft Bill, will still be an offence, however not punishable through imprisonment but through the use of alternative modes of handling petty offences. This is progress,'' the statement partly read.
''Our position is that prostitution should be decriminalized and, in fact, legalized,'' Atheists further advised Koome to grant sex workers more freedom.
Sex workers, Mumia stated, should be treated equally under the law and given equal access to all services.
''They deserve the same legal protections as anybody else. They should be able to maintain their livelihood without fear of violence or arrest, access health care and other services without discrimination, and seek justice when they are harmed,'' the statement further read.
"Decriminalization would help bring sex workers out of the dangerous margins and into the light where people are protected — not targeted — by the law," the statement added.
The current provisions in the Constitution in sections 153, 154, and 155 on prostitution state imprisonment of up to three years for anyone found guilty, both men and women.
"The principal Act is amended by deleting section 153 which states: Every male person who knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution; or in any public place persistently solicits or importunes for immoral purposes, is guilty of a felony," reads part of the proposed changes.
Section 153, which the CJ wants deleted, stated that "Where a male person is proved to live with or to be habitually in the company of a prostitute or is proved to have exercised control, direction or influence over the movements of a prostitute in such a manner as to show that he is aiding, abetting or compelling her prostitution with any other person, or generally, he shall unless he satisfies the court to the contrary be deemed to be knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution.
Section 154 added that a woman who also knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution or who is proved to have, for the purpose of gain, is guilty of a felony.
Just as Mumia stated, the Judiciary claimed that it wants prostitution treated as a petty offence under county by-laws. Alternative methods of punishment include conditional discharges, restitution or a compensation order to the victim, suspended or deferred sentences, community service under the Community Service Orders Act, and rehabilitation.
These alternatives were, however, not published in the Penal Code Amendment Bill 2023. Judiciary, in a statement sent to Kenyans.co.ke, claimed that they were included in a report that was sent to Parliament alongside the bill. However, it could not provide the same upon our request.
"The accompanying report and Bills are now the property of Parliament," its response stated. By