MPs block plan to create new sextortion law

A push to introduce a specific law to tackle sextortion has collapsed in Parliament after MPs concluded that Kenya’s current legal framework is already sufficient to deal with the offence.

This decision came after the National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee rejected a petition calling for amendments to the Penal Code and Sexual Offences Act to clearly define sextortion and introduce tougher penalties.

The petition, presented by Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris, sought to address growing cases of sexual exploitation and blackmail, including situations where people are coerced into giving sexual favours or threatened with exposure of intimate images.

Petitioners argued that survivors often face intimidation and lack adequate legal protection when seeking justice.

In its report tabled in the House this week, the committee chaired by Runyenjes MP Muchangi Karemba said enacting a separate law was unnecessary.

The committee cited Sections 23, 24 and 43 of the Sexual Offences Act, which it said already criminalise acts involving abuse of authority, coercion and sexual harassment.

“The enactment of the bill would duplicate existing laws... the aspects are adequately provided for in Section 43 of the Sexual Offences Act,” the committee stated.

It further noted that existing provisions cover the core elements of sextortion and offer a legal basis to prosecute such cases.

“Therefore, the committee rejects the proposal to amend the Sexual Offences Act (Cap 63A) and other relevant criminal laws to explicitly define sextortion as an offence, make clear provisions on penalties, support for victims and for connected purposes,” the report reads in part.

Petitioners had described sextortion as a hidden form of corruption that has taken root in communities, particularly affecting women and girls in low-income areas.

They highlighted cases where individuals were forced to exchange sexual favours for necessities such as water, fish, jobs, good grades or protection from authorities.

Research findings presented to Parliament showed that 41 per cent of women in some informal settlements had faced sextortion. The petitioners wanted offenders to face up to 15 years in jail, a fine of Sh5 million or both.

The Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) strongly supported the call to make sextortion a clearly defined offence.

The KLRC described the act as “psychological coercion” that often targets women seeking public services like education, jobs, identification documents and sanitary products.

“Female politicians have been vulnerable to image-based disinformation campaigns that manipulate media to sexualise them... these cases set out the need for urgent legislative intervention to include the offence of sextortion in the statute books,” the KLRC said.

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The EACC said a legal gap exists and that explicitly defining sextortion would strengthen enforcement and protection for victims.

However, the Office of the Attorney General took a different view, arguing that current laws already criminalise the key elements of sextortion, including coercion and abuse of power. This position played a decisive role in the committee’s rejection of the proposal.

The outcome means there will be no new offence created specifically for sextortion, despite pressure from rights groups and survivors who had hoped for clearer protections and penalties.