Abortion still remains illegal in the country and the penal code guidelines over it shall be enforced appropriately, a five-bench judge has ruled in Nairobi.

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The decision was made by judges Aggrey Muchelule, John Mativo, George Odunga, Lydia Achode and Mumbi Ngugi.

The judges also ordered the government to pay Sh3 million as compensation to a mother from Kisii County whose raped child died as a result of a botched abortion.

The mother, the Federation of Women Lawyers (Fida) and the Centre for Reproductive Health sued the ministry and the Attorney-General following the decision to withdraw the guidelines for an abortion.

Under the constitution, doctors are allowed to terminate a woman's pregnancy if at all assessment shows that it exposes her to complications and dangers.

The clause has been controversial, with Deputy President William Ruto opposing the new constitution in 2010, claiming that it paved way for termination of pregnancy.

However, the High Court judges maintained that there is no contradictions, adding that doctors are guided by ethics and cannot misuse it.

More to follow....