The Judiciary now says that Chief Justice Martha Koome has not tabled any Bills seeking to change Criminal Law in the country.
In a clarification on Tuesday, the Judiciary said the media reports claiming that the CJ has tabled the Bills are misleading.
It said the Bills were developed by the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) following consultations with all criminal justice agencies.
"The attention of the Judiciary has been drawn to misleading reports circulating in the media alleging that Chief Justice Martha Koome has tabled draft Bills in parliament to change Criminal Laws in Kenya.
"The correct position is that the Draft Bills were developed by the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) through the National Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms (NCCJR) following extensive stakeholder engagements for over 3 years. The Committee draws membership from all criminal justice agencies," the Judiciary said.
The Chief Justice, who is the chairperson of the NCAJ, on October 19, submitted the draft Bills to the National Assembly.
The Bills seek amendments to the criminal procedure code as well as the penal code that will see sweeping changes in the criminal justice architecture of the country.
From decriminalising petty offences to aligning the court systems to the current 2010 constitutional dispensation and abolishing the life sentences for murder cases.
The changes will make the system the most liberal in the region if adopted.
The bill seeks to repeal the current legal framework that makes prostitution both men and women criminally liable.
It is also seeking to repeal the criminal code on bigamy which currently makes it a criminal offence to engage in a marital commitment during the pendency of another similar commitment.
If the bill becomes law, not only prostitution will be spared and normalised, but those who solicit the services of prostitutes or those forcing someone to engage in the sex trade will also be freed from criminal exposure.
Currently, section 153 of the penal code says that “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.”
Further, the bill also decriminalizes petty offences like idle and disorderly as well as hawking by shouting dubbed in the current legal framework as nuisance trade.
The Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2023 and Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) 2023, seek to reduce the sentences of murderers, sex offenders, and those facing life in prison to 30 years.
Kenya's current law, states that a person can be sentenced to death if found guilty of murder, robbery with violence, or treason.
