High Court ruling sparks major shift in adolescent justice

From left: Victor Rasugu, Executive Director of the Network for Adolescents and Youth of Africa (NAYA Kenya); Martin Onyango, Associate Director for Legal Strategies at the Centre for Reproductive Health Kenya; and Kerry Mwita, Youth Advocate at NAYA Kenya, during a press statement in Nairobi. [Jasmine Atieno, Standard]

The High Court of Kenya has delivered what rights advocates are describing as a transformative ruling for adolescent rights, declaring that criminalising consensual and non-coercive relationships between adolescents violates constitutional protections.

For years, young people such as HSO, 17, and CNK, 16, lived under the threat of prosecution simply for being in consensual relationships. In February 2025, police raided their home, detained them for three days, and charged HSO with defilement after he failed to raise bail.

Their case was not isolated.

Another teenager, AMO, 17, began a relationship with TA in 2022 that resulted in pregnancy. Instead of receiving support, AMO was arrested and prosecuted, with his adolescence consumed by repeated court appearances until the matter was withdrawn in May 2025.

The cases highlighted the far-reaching impact of blanket criminalisation under the Sexual Offences Act (SOA), which made no distinction between exploitative abuse and consensual peer relationships.

As a result, adolescents were branded offenders, their education interrupted, their dignity undermined and their access to health services restricted by fear of arrest and prosecution.

However, on May 20, 2026, the High Court shifted the legal landscape.

In Petition E490 of 2025, the court ruled that criminalising consensual adolescent relationships infringes on constitutional rights, including equality, dignity, privacy, health, education and the best interests of the child.

High Court ruling sparks major shift in adolescent justice. [Jasmine Atieno, Standard]

The judgment directed the Director of Public Prosecutions to gazette prosecutorial guidelines, ordered the National Police Service to reform investigative procedures, and instructed state agencies to ensure adolescents can access reproductive health services without fear.

The court also ordered an immediate halt to criminal proceedings against the petitioners.

The ruling has been welcomed by advocates who have long argued that the law was harming the very young people it was intended to protect.

“For too long, the Sexual Offences Act has been used as a weapon against the very young people it was meant to protect and the burden has fallen heaviest on those with the least power to fight back. Today’s decision demands that we replace punishment with protection and build a policy and legal framework that supports adolescents rather than destroys their futures,” said Martin Onyango, Associate Director at the Center for Reproductive Rights.

For many adolescents across the country, the ruling marks a major turning point.

Fear of prosecution had kept many young people away from clinics, teachers and even family members, contributing to unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections and unsafe abortions.

Victor Rasugu, Executive Director of NAYA Kenya, said the judgment restores dignity and protection for adolescents.

“Young people in Kenya have been living in fear, afraid to go to a clinic, afraid to speak to an adult, afraid that a relationship could land them in a police cell. This decision restores adolescents’ dignity and their right to health. We will continue to push for full reform of the Sexual Offences Act so that no young person is ever again prosecuted for simply growing up,” he said.

The court’s decision also aligns Kenya with international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, both of which recognise adolescents’ evolving capacities and developmental maturity.

By affirming that adolescent sexuality is part of normal developmental behaviour, the court reframed the matter from one of criminal law to one centred on rights, health and dignity.

Advocacy organisations including the Center for Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Health Network Kenya, Katiba Institute and NAYA Kenya have pledged to continue pushing for reforms to the Sexual Offences Act, comprehensive sexuality education and adolescent-friendly health services.

They say the ruling should become more than  a legal milestone and instead serve as a catalyst for broader systemic change.

For HSO, CNK, AMO and TA, the judgment represents more than a court victory.

It offers them a chance to reclaim their futures free from the shadow of criminal prosecution and sends a message to thousands of young Kenyans that their dignity, voices and rights matter.