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the deadline · Nairobi · Kenya

Is it too late to report in Nairobi?

Probably later than you think.

Nairobi does have a deadline, and it is quoted in full below rather than summarised. It is measured against the law, not against how long you have been quiet.

Some of this comes from support organisations or published research rather than an official source in Kenya. Sources are below.

Start a reportYou can read this page without writing anything.

the deadline in Nairobi, quoted in full

No clear public source confirms a fixed reporting deadline for adult sexual assault cases in Kenya. Report and seek care as soon as it is safe to do so.

We quote this rather than shorten it. A shortened deadline is a wrong deadline, and this is the sentence a lawyer would want to read.

2 different clocks

The exam window runs in hours. The deadline runs in years.

the exam window in Nairobi

Go for a medical exam as soon as possible at a Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre or any hospital. Emergency contraception and HIV prevention medication need to be taken within 72 hours to be effective.

This is the clock that runs out fast. You can be examined without deciding whether to go to the police.

the limitation period

This is the deadline for the case itself — how long the law gives before a prosecution can no longer be brought. It is usually many years for rape, and often longer or unlimited when the survivor was a child.

Missing the exam window does not mean the limitation period has passed. They are separate clocks.

where to report in Nairobi

Go to the gender desk at any police station. You can also go directly to a Gender Based Violence Recovery Centre, such as the one at Kenyatta National Hospital or the Nairobi Women's Hospital. You can get medical care even without reporting to police first.

The full guide for Nairobi: what to bring, the exam, the station, every source

if the deadline has passed

A closed case is not the same as no record.

If the period above has run out where you are, a prosecution may no longer be possible. That is the plain truth and we will not dress it up. 3 things are still open to you.

  • a timestamped report

    What you write here is dated and kept. Years later, a record that existed before anyone asked for it carries weight a memory does not.

  • a sealed report that can match

    Seal it against an identifier — a profile link, a phone, a workplace. Nobody sees it until someone else names the same person. Their case may still be inside the deadline.

  • a pin on the map

    Publish it and the next person searching Nairobi can see it. He stays an alias unless a court, the police or the press have already published his name.

Many countries also treat the clock differently when the survivor was a child, when the offence is ongoing, or when new evidence appears. A support organisation in this list can tell you whether that applies to you.

who can tell you today

People in Nairobi who do this every day.

These are independent of Escrow. They know how the deadline is read in practice where you are, and they can also just talk.

  • Gender Violence Recovery Centre (Nairobi Women's Hospital)

    0800 720 565 (toll-free) / https://gvrc.co.ke/

  • Federation of Women Lawyers Kenya (FIDA Kenya)

    +254 722 509760 / info@fidakenya.org

sources

The deadline above came from one of these.

the honest note

This is information, not legal advice.

Nobody here is your lawyer. The deadline above is quoted from a source we read, and the date we read it is beside it. Laws change, and an office may read a deadline differently from the statute. For your own case, ask a lawyer or a support organisation in Nairobi.

If something here is out of date, write to hello@escrow.nanocorp.app and we will check it and say when we did.

when you are ready

There is no deadline for writing it down here. A report on Escrow can be made years afterwards, and nothing happens until you say so.

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