10 Years Jail Term Proposed For Parents, Leaders Settling Sexual Offenses

In a bid to find a solution to increase cases of sexual violence, Soroti District Woman Member of Parliament, Anne Adeke has proposed a punishment of 10 years imprisonment for anyone convicted for mediating or interfering in capital sexual offenses in Uganda.

Adeke tabled the Sexual Offenses Bill, 2024 over a year after she was granted leave by Parliament to table a private member’s Bill.  While tabling the Bill, Adeke justified her move to have all sexual related offenses to be in one statute book saying it will make it easy for law enforcement.

“The scattered nature of sexual offenses in different pieces of legislation denies the public a single piece of legislation on sexual offenses to guide the prevention, protection and prosecution of these offenses. There is need to ensure that the legislation responds to the evolving and current trends in sexual offenses, curbs sexual violence and adopts international best practices in the prevention of sexual violence,” said Adeke.

Speaker Anita Among referred the Bill in which the mover wants to consolidate all sexual related laws into one piece of legislation to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, and the Committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development for scrutiny.

In the Bill, Adeke has proposed stringent punishments and also suggested enhancement of those already in place as a way of getting rid of capital offenses that look to be persistent in the country.

With some of the capital sexual offenses being settled before being reported to police, the legislator has proposed punishment for both the offender and the person who interferes with the case.

In Clause 42, the mover has proposed 10 years imprisonment without an option of a fine for a person who will be convicted for entering into settlement or compromise with a person suspected to have or a relative of the suspect offender. This according to the Bill would be limited to the offenses of rape, aggravated rape, defilement, aggravated defilement, and, any other offense where a victim is a child.

While the police only acts on cases reported to them, the Bill if passed into law will go for those who conceal sexual offenses by resorting to not reporting. On conviction, a person who fails to report a sexual offense with knowledge of its commission would on conviction be jailed for 3 years.

Other offense

In a country where the use of social media is rapidly growing, the mover has also gone for offense related to one’s intentional exposure of sexual organs.

Under Clause 6, Adeke wants the legislation to make it an offense for intentionally exposing sexual organ or buttocks to another person while in public; exposing online one’s or another person’s sexual organ, breasts or buttocks; and unlawful intrusion on another person’s privacy  and showing him or her bare sexual organs, breasts or buttocks. The proposed punishment for this offense is 3 years jail term on conviction.

With a lot of technology on the market, the 3 year jail term has also been suggested to go for a convict charged with indecent exposure of sexual organs by electronically generating such material either through artificial intelligence or imagery via video, pictures, drawing, caricature or other visual presentations.

Still under this Clause 6(4), it has been proposed that a punishment of 5 years imprisonment be handed to a person who is convicted for indecent exposure in the presents of another person’s spouse, family member or child.

Attempting to import best practices from other jurisdictions, Adeke also wants sex offenders to be registered for easy identification in order to protect vulnerable persons especially children who might be under his or her.

Under Clauses 16, 17 and 18, the legislator has proposed modifications of punishments for offenses related to defilement. While maintaining the maximum punishment for aggravated defilement to be death sentence, she has proposed 18 years imprisonment for a person convicted for attempted aggravated defilement; 15 years for attempted defilement; 10 years for procuring defilement.

It has also been proposed that persons convicted for committing offenses of incest would be imprisoned for life. The Bill has also gone for brothels with convicted operators facing jail terms of 7 years whereas a convicted prostitute faces 2 years imprisonment.  Also a person who engages in a sexual act with a prostitute would on conviction be sentenced to 2 years imprisonment.

Expose offenders

Adeke suggests that within 10 days of conviction on sexual offenses indictments, Court would forward to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) details of the convict to be entered on the sex offenders’ register. A registered sex offender will remain of the register whose access could be allowed under conditions set by authorities for his or her life unless when there is successful appeal against the conviction.

In Clause 39, Adeke is seeking to criminalise the acts of conspiracy to defeat justice and interference with witnesses involved in prosecuting criminal offenses.  She suggests a five year jail term for a person convicted for; obstructing, preventing or defeating the course of justice through intimidation, harassment, causing fear, distress or harm.

Repeals

While Adeke wants Parliament to consolidate all sexual offenses, the legislation would see several sections of the Penal Code Act and also import specific sections from other laws like the; Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act, Domestic Violence Act; Children Act; Computer Misuse Act; and, Persons with Disabilities Act.