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The conviction of a senior Japanese football official for viewing child sexual abuse images while travelling highlights the global nature of online child exploitation and renews focus on Kenya's robust, yet challenged, child protection frameworks.
A French court has sentenced Masanaga Kageyama, a senior technical director at the Japan Football Association (JFA), to an 18-month suspended jail term and a €5,000 (approximately KES 780,000) fine for viewing child sexual abuse images on a plane. The conviction, handed down on Monday, October 6, 2025, in France, has resonated globally, drawing attention to the pervasive issue of online child exploitation and its implications for child safety initiatives, including those in Kenya.
Kageyama, 58, was arrested last week during a stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris while en route to Chile for the Under-20 World Cup. The court heard that flight crew members alerted authorities after observing him viewing the illicit images on his laptop in the business class cabin. Initially, Kageyama claimed the images were AI-generated art, but later admitted to viewing them, expressing shame and stating he was unaware such an act was illegal in France.
The sentence includes a 10-year ban on working with minors and a decade-long prohibition from returning to France. He will also be added to the French national sex offenders' register. The JFA has since terminated Kageyama's contract with immediate effect, with Secretary-General Yukawa Kazuya expressing deep regret and apologising for the incident.
Kenya has a comprehensive legal and policy framework designed to protect children from abuse and exploitation, both offline and online. The 2010 Constitution of Kenya, in Article 53, guarantees every child the right to be protected from abuse, neglect, harmful cultural practices, and all forms of violence.
The Children Act, first enacted in 2001 and significantly amended in 2022, provides specific measures to safeguard children. The 2022 amendment notably addresses online abuse, harassment, and exploitation, criminalising acts such as online child grooming, cyber harassment, cyberstalking, and cyberbullying. This Act also mandates reporting of suspected child abuse cases and provides for the establishment of Child Protection Units within police stations.
Further legislation includes the Sexual Offences Act of 2006, which outlines harsh penalties for sexual offenses against children, and the Data Protection Act, 2019, which classifies children's data as sensitive personal data with processing restrictions.
Despite these robust legal provisions, challenges persist in Kenya. A 2021 'Disrupting Harm' report indicated that between 5% and 13% of internet-using children aged 12-17 reported experiencing online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) in the preceding year. This figure is likely higher due to underreporting, with less than 5% of child victims formally reporting to the police or national helplines.
Perpetrators often exploit children's desire for affection, posing as friends and luring them with gifts or money in exchange for sexual images or videos. The report also highlighted that 7% of children had their sexual images shared without consent, representing an estimated 350,000 children annually in Kenya.
The Kenyan government has developed national strategic plans, including the National Prevention and Response Plan on Violence against Children in Kenya (2019-2023) and the National Plan of Action to Tackle Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Kenya (2022–2026). These plans aim to coordinate responses, raise awareness, and strengthen enforcement. However, some stakeholders, like Paul Adhoch, director of Trace Kenya, have noted that while laws and plans are in place, funding for relevant entities, such as specialized police units, remains insufficient.
The global attention on cases like Kageyama's underscores the urgent need for continued vigilance and international cooperation in combating child sexual exploitation. In Kenya, the focus remains on strengthening the implementation of existing laws, increasing public awareness, and ensuring adequate resource allocation for child protection services. The effectiveness of the National Plan of Action to Tackle Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Kenya (2022–2026) will be crucial in addressing the evolving threats children face in the digital space.
