Mary Lincoln and Georgina Njenga may be the most renowned women in the country to fall victim to leaked private photos and videos. This is due to their public positions as gospel singer and social media personality respectively.
But daily, hundreds of women, and some men, fall victim to a new form of sexual assault that involves leakage of private photos and videos.
These leakages, which are highly popular on Telegram are designed to shame and revenge. They are often the work of jilted former lovers and bloggers.
The majority of victims of online sexual assault like do nothing to compensate for the shame and trauma that comes from leaked private photos and sex tapes.
This is because most of them do not know that they can seek legal redress.
“Even in the absence of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act, leaking someone’s nudes without their consent is breaching their right to privacy under Article 31 (c) of the 2010 Constitution, which provides for the right not to have their information relating to their private affairs unnecessarily revealed,” says lawyer Veronica Wadongo.
In the same vein, Murigi Kamande, an advocate of the High Court, says that sending unsolicited nude photos and pornographic clips to women is a sexual offence for which you can seek legal redress.
“The Sexual Offences Act defines ‘indecent act’ to include an unlawful intentional act which causes exposure or display of any pornographic material to any person against their will. The sending of unsolicited nude photos and video clips falls within this category of offences,” he says.
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Mr. Kamande says that where you have been subjected to these kinds of offenses, you can start by reporting the matter to the police in order to initiate the prosecution of the person who made the leakage.
“If found guilty, the perpetrator will be liable for a term not exceeding five years or a fine not exceeding Sh. 50,000 or both,” says Kamande.
If the unsolicited explicit photos and videos have been sent to a user below the age of 18, Mr. Kamande says that the sender will be liable to imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 years.
The Data Protection Act, 2019 also provides an avenue through which leakage of personal information including photos, data concerning sex life, sexual orientation and even contacts can be arrested.
The Act allows victims whose nudes have been leaked through platforms such as blogs without consent to seek legal compensation.
Legal compensation example
The civil case of Miss Roshanara Ebrahim versus Ashleys Kenya Limited & 3 Others is a perfect example that women whose nudes are leaked online can be compensated legally.
Miss Ebrahim’s case was filed at the High Court in 2016 under the case number Petition No. 361 of 2016. On December 7, 2016, the High Court’s Constitutional and Human Rights Division ordered the third respondent known as Frank Zahlten to pay Miss Roshanara Ebrahim Sh. 1 million for violating her rights to privacy.
Court documents showed that Mr. Zahlten had sent nude photos of Miss Roshanara to Ashleys Kenya chief executive officer Terry Mungai on July 28, 2016.
“The third respondent (Frank Zahlten) will pay to the petitioner (Roshanara Ibrahim) damages for violation of her rights to privacy in the sum of Sh. 1 million,” Justice Muriithi ruled in his judgment.
In his ruling, Justice Edward Muriithi further barred Frank from publishing or sharing any of Miss Roshanara’s photos. Frank had allegedly leaked the nude photos of Miss Roshanara after she dumped him.
