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Section 16 of Sexual Offences Act: Child pornography

    

(1) Any person including a juristic person who—
(a) knowingly displays, shows, exposes or exhibits obscene images, words or sounds by means of print, audio-visual or any other media to a child with intention of encouraging or enabling a child to engage in sexual acts;
(aa) sells, lets to hire, distributes, publicly exhibits or in any manner puts into circulation, or for purposes of sale, hire, distribution, public exhibition or circulation, makes, produces or has in his or her possession any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting, art, representation or figure or any other obscene object whatsoever which depict the image of any child;
(b) imports, exports or conveys any obscene object for any of the purposes specified in subsection (1), or knowingly or having reason to believe that such object will be sold, let to hire, distributed or publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation;
(c) takes part in or receives profits from any business in the course of which he or she knows or has reason to believe that any such obscene objects are, for any of the purposes specifically in this section, made, produced, purchased, kept, imported, exported, conveyed, publicly exhibited or in any manner put into circulation;
(d) advertises or makes known by any means whatsoever that any person is engaged or is ready to engage in any act which is an offence under this section, or that any such obscene object can be produced from or through any person; or
(e) offers or attempts to do any act which is an offence under this section, is guilty of an offence of child pornography and upon conviction is liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than six years or to a fine of not less than five hundred thousand shillings or to both and upon subsequent conviction, for imprisonment to a term of not less than seven years without the option of a fine.
(2) This section shall not apply to—
(a) a publication which is proved to be justified as being for the public good on the ground that such book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, art, representation or figure is in the interest of science, literature, learning or other objects of general concern;
(b) any book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation or figure which is kept or used bona fide for religious purposes;
(c) any representation sculptured, engraved, painted or otherwise represented on or in any ancient monument recognised as such in law; and
(d) activities between two persons of over eighteen years by mutual consent.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a book, pamphlet, paper, drawing, painting, art, representation or figure or any other object shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest or if its effect, or where it comprises two or more distinct items the effect of any one of its items, if taken as a whole, tends to deprave and corrupt persons who are likely, having regard to all relevant circumstances, to read, see or hear the matter contained or embodied in it.

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