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Sending nudes on phone to land you in jail for 30 years


People who love forwarding other people’s nudes via the internet be warned. A Bill is proposing a fine of Sh300,000 or a jail term of 30 years –or both- for any person convicted of forwarding naked pictures of other people.

“A person who transfers, publishes, or disseminates, including making a digital depiction available for distribution or downloading through any other means of transferring data to a computer, the intimate image of another person commits an offence and is liable, on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding thirty years or fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings or both,” says Article 28 of the Cyber Security and Protection Bill 2016.

The Bill is sponsored by Nyeri Senator Mutahi Kagwe, who is the chairperson of Committee on Information and Technology.

It was tabled in the Senate on Wednesday.

“While computers have increased human connectivity and have a direct impact on development, they also pose a risk to the users. At a larger scale they may be used to disrupt the delivery of essential services and in effect cause irreparable harm to the economy and lives of people,” reasons Mr Kagwe.

If enacted, Kenya will follow in the footsteps of Europe and America where forwarding of other people’s naked pictures or videos – otherwise referred to as revenge porn – has been criminalised.

It will, however, be a herculean task for law enforcement agencies to obtain evidence from some instant messaging applications like WhatsApp and Telegram, as they have end to end encryption.

A number of Kenyans have had their lives ruined after their naked pictures were circulated on social media.