there's hidden agenda in sex crimes bill

By Wanjiru Muiruri (Daily Nation, Kenya)
 
March 28, 2006: It is high time Kenya published a comprehensive law on sexual crimes. But there seems to be a disturbing trend in which shadowy figures relentlessly want to shift our moral paradigm. What am I talking about?

It is well-known that Kenya has been under considerable pressure by certain international agencies, including some allied to the United Nations, to comply fully with "universal" human rights standards. 

On the face of it, this seems reasonable. But reading between the lines, one must realise that progressive human rights now encompass, amongst other things:

The right to procure abortion, the right to homosexuality, the legalisation of prostitution, and the right for young children to access reproductive health-care (contraceptives and abortion services) without parental knowledge.
To progressive human rights activists, Kenya is an anathema, a pariah, for stubbornly adhering to what they consider traditional and oppressive laws that are discriminatory against gays, and la di da . . . .

So, what has this diatribe got to do with the Sexual Offences Bill? That’s the same question I pose to the mover, and I suppose, drafter of the Bill, which aside for some fatal flaws seems to be the germ of a very good law.

Why is this Bill seeking to legalise prostitution? In what way will doing that enhance the dignity of women, girls, and increasingly boys who are forced to sell themselves to make ends meet, and in some pathetic instances, to pay school fees?

Equally, in what way will does the law against homosexuality constitute a barrier to the implementation of the proposed Bill?

I’ll quote from a letter recently presented to the Attorney-General by the Kenya Parent Caucus:
Prostitution: On Page 63 of the Bill, section 154 of the Penal code stands repealed. Section 165 of the penal code outlaws prostitution. We note that the Sexual Offences Bill expressly outlaws child prostitution, and wonder why it is silent on adult prostitution. 

"We also ask why this section needs to be repealed; in what way does this section pose a barrier to the implementation of the Act?

Homosexuality: On Page 66 of the Bill, section 165 of the penal code stands repealed. Section 165 outlaws consensual sexual acts between men (sodomy) and by repealing it, sodomy and hence homosexuality (and lesbianism) are no longer expressly outlawed in law. 

Again we ask, why is this section being repealed? In which way does it pose a barrier to the implementation of the Bill?"

The letter continues to say that should it be the intention of MPs to legalise homosexuality and prostitution, then Kenyans have a right to know, and such a major paradigm shift should not be sneaked into a document as fundamental as the Sexual Offences Bill.

The Kenya Parent’s Caucus also posed similar inquiries on the proposed constitution last year. At the time, it queried the cumulative impact of several clauses which, if passed, would undermine the moral fabric of society and undermine the institution of family in Kenya.

In particular, they took issue with the provisions on international law, the right to life, and the children’s section. Fortunately in this regard, the constitution did not pass, but the question is whose agenda was it to put those provisions in the draft in the first place? 

Who is funding "progressive" human rights activists to rewrite Kenyan law, on the sly, with the intention of hoodwinking Kenyans into endorsing values they have not considered, and in most cases, do not support?
Back to the facts at hand. I urge legislator Njoki Ndung'u who conceived the Bill to remove these unnecessary sections, or else risk failure, for Kenyans will not go for such distorted values.

Ms Muiruri works with the Kenya Parents Caucus