Federation of Women Lawyer Kenya (FIDA), one of the organisations in the Human Rights House Project in Nairobi, is pressing for a ruling in a rape case involving an 11 year old girl reviewed.

Reported in the Daily Nation Newspaper of 14-MAR- 2005 and edited for publication here

A Magistrate in Thika (an industrial Town 40 km north of Nairobi) recently ruled to place a man who raped and impregnated an 11 year old girl on a three year probation.  The magistrate justified her ruling after the rapist accepted to marry the minor as his second wife.

Marriage against the Law
In a press statement, the Chairperson of FIDA, Joyce Majiwa (picture) said such lenient sentences would not deter rapists.  Such action undermined justice and was in direct contravention of both the Children´s Act and the children´s Rights Convention which Kenya has ratified.  Section 14 of the Children´s states that no person shall subject a child to early marriage.  The federation argued that such a marriage will imperil the girl´s physical and psychological well-being and subject her to continued abuse and sexual exploitation.  

Need for deterrence sentencing
Due to the dramatic rise of sexual abuses against women in the recent past, the federation called for appropriate sentencing for offenders that can deter these crimes.  It also called the judiciary to ensure that women´s rights are respected in the courts.