The President has finally assented to the Children Bill 2021 which will effectively replace the Children Act 2001.
President Uhuru Kenyatta signing a document in State House (Photo Courtesy: PSCU)
The new law is an improvement in several regards:
Children in conflict with the law, especially those accused of committing minor offenses, will not be taken through the court's system, rather they will be diverted to community-based systems.
All Children coming into conflict with the law will be provided with free legal aid to enable them to navigate through the justice system. In addition to this, the age of criminal responsibility has been raised to 12 years from the current 8 years.
Children with disability will now be accorded medical treatment, special care, education & training free of charge.
The law introduces a new concept of kinship adoption which will enable relatives of adopted children to do it in a much cheaper, faster way that is devoid of legal technicalities.
The law establishes a Child Welfare Fund.