Note: This table was compiled using the Penal Codes that are accessible online, and we accordingly cannot guarantee that we referred to the latest versions of the Penal Codes. We acknowledge that some countries might have these offences in local by-laws instead of the Penal Code, and the list below...

Across Africa, corrupt police officers use colonial laws to extort bribes, arrest and sexually assault the indigent and punish anyone they don't like. Malawi is throwing out these imperial outdated laws. Now its time for others to do the same.

The National Council on the Administration of Justice Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms (NCCJR) was established and gazzeted by The Chief Justice of Kenya, Hon.David K Maraga, on 23rd June, 2017.This Committee is tasked with spearheading the comprehensive review and reform of Kenya’s entire criminal justice system and overseeing the...

Mr. Wilfred Nderitu was on 3rd August 2017 elected as the Vice Chairperson of the National Council on the Administration of Justice Committee on Criminal Justice Reforms (NCCJR) at the committee’s inaugural meeting held at the Amber Hotel, Nairobi. Among the participants at the meeting was Mr. Edigah Kavulavu who...

ACJR participated in the 8th Annual Conference of the Pan African Lawyers Union Seminar focusing on Initiatives for the Decriminalisation and Declassification of Petty Offences in Africa held in Durban, South Africa from 5 – 8 July 2017. Kristen Petersen participated in a panel discussion on Continental Initiatives for the...

It’s been 54 years since Kenya got her independence and yet there are still a number of archaic, colonial and discriminatory laws on the statute books. From archival research I have done it’s clear that these laws are used to exploit, frustrate and intimidate Kenyans by restricting their right to...

An audit report in Kenya’s criminal justice system paints a tragic picture on women access to justice. It portrays state organs as the worst enemy of Kenyan women and reveals that a significant number of women languishing in jails and remand homes have been convicted of petty offences. These offences...

By Josphat Thio'go It’s Monday morning and City Hall is once again a beehive of activity after the weekend break. People are pacing up and down to pay bills or have their various queries settled. But it is the right wing of the establishment that catches one’s eye. This is...

Following the national conference on decriminalization and re-classification of petty offences held in Nairobi in March 2017, and further to research findings from the audit of the criminal justice system in Kenya previously done by LRF/RODI, the Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya committed to set up a committee...

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission), meeting at its 21st Extraordinary Session held from 23 February to 4 March 2017 in Banjul, The Gambia; Recalling its mandate to promote and protect human rights in Africa under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the African...

06 Feb 2017 | by Melody Kozah, African Policing Civilian Oversight Forum (APCOF) People living in poverty and on the margins of society have been, and continue to be, disproportionately affected by laws that criminalise petty offences punishable by a small fine or a short term of imprisonment. In Africa,...

May 5, 2017 By NLM Reporter Criminalisation of petty offences in Kenya has, over time, provided a basis for gross violation of the human rights of poor and vulnerable populations, especially in cities and major urban centres. Even after the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, hundreds of thousands...

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by ODHIAMBO ORLALE · April 13, 2017 A new study on petty offences shows a link between poverty, corruption and increase in the number of inmates in remand homes and prisons. The study by International Commission of Jurists (Kenya Chapter) also shows that bribery and extortion surrounding punishment of petty...

Victor Kapiyo[1] Petty offences are generally understood to be lesser criminal acts which attract less severe punishment. This is because they are considered to be of a lower level of seriousness compared to felonies and also due to the minimal degree to which they affect others or society. In some...

By Benjamin Muriuki.   Maraga revealed that at the time he was a student and was nabbed by police in Nakuru town for allegedly loitering. The Chief Justice was speaking during the national conference on decriminalisation and re-classif ication of petty offences organised by the International Commission of Jurists at...

By JOSEPH NDUNDA, The International Commission of Jurists on Thursday called for a review of laws to remove criminal sanctions on petty offenders. They want frivolous charges against hawkers, touts, drunkards and vagabonds and other petty offenders re-looked into. Njonjo Mue, ICJ Kenya chapter chairman, said sex workers, street vendors...

Following the conclusion of the policy research on petty offences and practices affecting populations at National Level and in Kisumu, Mombasa and Nairobi county levels, ICJ Kenya alongside its national and regional partners has convened a National Conference on Decriminalization and Re-classification of petty offence in Kenya on 24th and...

By Louise Ehlers At 3 a.m. one March morning, Mayeso Gwanda, an informal trader, left his home in Blantyre, Malawi, and traveled to the nearby Limbe market. He carried with him the plastic bags he sells in order to earn a living. As he made his way along the road,...

In March 2015, the applicant was arrested by police whilst on his way to the market where he works as a street vendor. He was charged with the offence of being a rogue and vagabond. Section 184(1)(c) of the Penal Code provides that “every person in or upon or near...

"Il faut maintenant débarrasser l'Afrique d’autres lois similaires." Ce témoignage de Mayeso Gwanda, vendeur à Blantyre, au Malawi, a été recueilli par l'Open Society Foundations, un réseau de fondations créé en 1979 par le philanthrope et milliardaire américain George Soros. Je m’appelle Mayeso Gwanda, je gagne ma vie en vendant...

By Paul Muhoho The criminal justice system is jammed with less serious offences that contribute to unnecessary delay in prosecutions and congestion in detention centres, a special audit reveals. The less serious offences exclude murder, violent robbery, manslaughter, sexual offences and economic crimes offences. In an alarming disclosure, 452 children...

Lawmakers have moved at a snail's pace to change some draconian laws and history will record that it took a vendor to get the Constitutional Court to invalidate a section of rogue and vagabond that oppresses the poor. Yesterday, we met Mayeso Gwanda selling plastic bags as usual in the...

The High Court in Blantyre  has ruled that rogue and vagabond offence is unconstitutional. The determination was made by a panel of three judges comprising High Court judges Zione Ntaba, Michael Mtambo and Slyvester Kalembera,  meeting as  a constitutional court. Astreet vendor Mayeso Gwanda took the matter to Constitutional Court...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06sF9IW2E2M K24's Ian Wafula takes a look at Human rights violations in regards to petty offences, challenges and understanding your rights. Lorraine Ochiel (ICJ Kenya), Kimani Waweru (City and Street Vendors Empowerment Programme) and Cate Mburu (Bar Hostess Empowerment Programme) from the CSO Petty Offences Taskforce partner organizations provide an...

By LYDIA MATATA, @lydiamatata. Activist and musician Joji Baro (George Barasa) hides his shoulder-length hair under a grey mavin. The 25 year-old likes to put make-up on his delicate face and walk with a bit of a strut. But Joji Baro chose boyish clothes today and admits that he cannot...

By SIMON NDONGA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 21 – More petty offenders are set to be released on Friday after President Uhuru Kenyatta pardoned 7,000 inmates who were about to finish their jail terms. The first batch of prisoners was freed from the Nairobi West Prison late Thursday and more are...

Two petty offenders released last week on Presidential pardon are back in police custody on suspicions of committing fresh crimes. The two — one from Nyeri and the other from Laikipia West — were lucky to escape lynching by enraged mobs. In Nyeri, George Kimani, who was released from King’ong’o...

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday made good his promise and released 7,000 petty offenders in what he said was a move to free up space in jail to accommodate government officials involved in high-level corruption. Coming in the week when his government has been in the spotlight over the fight...

By LYDIA MATATA, @lydiamatata. Esther served a three-month jail sentence when she began sex work aged 16. Unable to produce any identification documents, she was arrested with other sex workers during a raid on a hot spot in Nairobi. That was five years ago, but Esther says harassment from law...

By JOSEPH MURAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 17 – It is survival of the fittest for the hundreds of hawkers operating within Nairobi – mostly those within the Central Business District- as they grapple with deceit from politicians, lack of operating grounds and consistent attacks from the county askaris , largely...

By JOSEPH MURAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 21- Before we started our interview with Samson Mwangi at his hawking base of operations, he was very categorical that we must first help him in, “getting a job since I got skills. I know Media is powerful so you people can help me.”...

By JOSEPH MURAYA, NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 18 – For three years Mbugua (not his real name) doubled as a street hawker in Nairobi and a student of the University of Nairobi in a bid to boost his pocket money and assist his parents in paying fees. His operating location was...

By LYDIA MATATA. Samuel Macharia Njoroge, 42, refers to his earlier years as the dark ages. “This is a period that I faced a lot of hardship and stigma while undergoing psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation both residential and out-patient for quite some time. I was in and out of it...

The goals of the project include law reform initiatives aimed at the decriminalisation and/or declassification of minor nuisance-related offences in Malawi and the region; and the reduction in human rights violations by law enforcement agencies when enforcing minor nuisance related offences. Background The Malawi Penal Code provides for various nuisance-related...

ICJ Kenya held a forum to engage with hawkers on the decriminalization and declassification of petty crimes. This was informed by their recent subjection to cruel and inhuman treatment by City Council ‘askaris’ as well as the killing, over time, of numerous hawkers during the violent street battles between the...

A Nairobi hawker on Monday opted to hide under a matatu to avoid arrest by City Inspectorate askaris. In a video doing the rounds on social media, the woman is seen and heard weeping in fear under the public service vehicle as the driver and conductor plead with her to step out....

By NAIROBI NEWS REPORTER A journalist has captured a heart melting moment when a woman hawking onions in the city centre dives under a matatu to escape arrest by city askaris. The middle aged woman is seen staying still under the matatu minibus until matatu operators beckon her to come...

KTN News recently aired the a four part series of an investigative documentary on how the Nairobi County Government Askaris extort, arrest, harass, maim and inhumanely treat hawkers. According to the investigative piece titled Kanjo Kingdom, the amount of bribes paid to the Askaris per year exceeds Ksh 1.52 billion, money...

Bail: The temporary release of an accused person from prison pending trial, sometimes on condition that a sum of money be paid to the Court to guarantee the accused persons appearance in court. Bond: A written and signed promise to pay a certain sum of money on a certain date,...

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 2 – It is a tale of untold suffering when you have to live on a day-to-day basis with the normal life challenges while you are still carrying a blanket tag of ‘criminal’ given by the same society that is supposed to protect you. The City of...

Dear Esteemed Colleagues,The Pan African Lawyers Union, in collaboration with a consortium of Civil Society Organisations*, is conducting a survey on criminalisation and penalisation of petty offences across Africa. These laws are often vaguely drafted, overly broad, and mostly used to target specific marginalised communities or groups. Victims of such...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mihfRxJd2V0 By Jama Judah. "About 10 of us were supported by that shop," he said. "We're being fed by the community, through the mosque, but we need help." JOHANNESBURG, Police in South Africa's northern Limpopo Province have shut down hundreds of shops run by refugees and asylum seekers during an...