Kenya Act or statute

Parliament of Kenya

Penal Code

Jurisdiction: Kenya
Structure: 416 provisions
Citation: Cap. 63
Dates: As at 11 Dec 2023

More statute details

Dates: As at 11 Dec 2023

Source attribution: Source: Kenya Law

Publicly available, excluded from search-engine indexing

This page remains available for direct research for the following reasons:

The record does not meet this release's canonical indexing criteria. (market-indexing-disabled)
The record does not meet this release's canonical indexing criteria. (emergency-noindex)

On this page

Professional statute overview

Enactment structure, operative effect and source provenance

Official source

Purpose and legislative effect

“The Act may be cited as the Penal Code and is referred to as "this Code".”

The Act may be cited as the Penal Code and is referred to as "this Code". Preserves liability, trial or punishment of a person for an offence against the common law or any other law in force in Kenya other than this Code. Section 3 has been deleted. Defines an office as "any office the holder of which is appointed or removed by the President or by any public commission." The courts of Kenya have jurisdiction that covers every place within Kenya, including territorial waters, for the purposes of this Code.

How the instrument operates

01
Start with the recorded version

As at 11 Dec 2023. The date shown identifies this source expression and should not be treated as proof that no later change exists.
02
Locate the controlling provision

Use the provision map, part headings and full-text filter to move from the broad subject to the exact legal language.
03
Read conditions and exceptions together

Keep subsections, definitions, provisos and cross-references in context before drawing a legal conclusion.
04
Verify currency and official wording

Confirm later legislation, commencement notices and corrections with the official publisher before advice, filing or reliance.

Research entry points

Selected provisions across the instrument. Open any row to continue with the exact stored text.

367. Making or having in possession papers or implements for forgery

Prohibits making, using, or knowingly having custody or possession of papers intended to resemble special papers used for making bank notes or currency notes.

Section 367

370. Impounding and destruction of counterfeit coins

Officers of the Government and bank managers must impound coins they reasonably believe are counterfeit and send them to the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya; the Governor may cut, deface or destroy them with or without compensatio…

Section 370

374. Uttering metal or coin not current as coin

It is an offence for any person, with intent to defraud, to pass off certain metal items or non-current coins as lawful coin; the offence carries up to one year imprisonment.

Section 374

377. Forfeiture

When a person is convicted of an offence under this Chapter or Chapter XXXV, the court must order forfeiture of forged or counterfeit currency-related items and instruments used in the offence.

Section 377

381. Counterfeiting trade marks

Section 381

Source and current-law status

Source record view

Source record from new.kenyalaw.org · As at 11 Dec 2023

Verify current force

The source record does not state a definitive current-law status. Check the official publisher and later amendments before relying on this text.

For advice, pleadings, or compliance decisions, retain the official source and confirm the current consolidated provision.

Official record

Source-indexed provision map

Provisions 401–416

Search by section, heading, part or exact legal wording. Every result remains linked to the stored source record.

Search within this statute

Search all stored provisions in this version.

Showing 16 of 416 provisions

Provision 13Offence 3

§ 367367. Making or having in possession papers or implements for forgeryProvision

Prohibits making, using, or knowingly having custody or possession of papers intended to resemble special papers used for making bank notes or currency notes.

Section 367. Making or having in possession papers or implements for forgery Section makes, uses or knowingly has in his custody or possession any paper intended to resemble and pass as a special paper such as is provided and used for making any bank note or currency note; or

Section 367Verify source

§ 367A367A. Mutilating currency notesOffence

Anyone who wilfully and without lawful authority or excuse defaces, tears, cuts or otherwise mutilates any currency note must not do so; doing so is an offence punishable by up to three months imprisonment or a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings, or both.

Section 367A. Mutilating currency notes Section Any person who wilfully and without lawful authority or excuse defaces, tears, cuts or otherwise mutilates any currency note shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings or to both such imprisonment and fine.[ActNo. 15 of 1966, Sch.]

Section 367AVerify source

§ 368368. ClippingProvision

Any person must not deal with any coin so as to diminish its weight with intent that it may pass as coin; doing so is a felony punishable by imprisonment for seven years.

Section 368. Clipping Section Any person who deals with any coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight with intent that when so dealt with it may pass as coin is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

Section 368Verify source

§ 369369. Melting down of currencyProvision

Any person must not melt down, break up, deface, or use as anything other than currency any coin current in Kenya; doing so is a misdemeanour punishable by a fine up to eight thousand shillings or imprisonment for six months or both.

Section 369. Melting down of currency Section Any person who melts down, breaks up, defaces by stamping thereon any name, word or mark, or uses otherwise than as currency any coin current for the time being in Kenya is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding eight thousand shillings or to imprisonment for six months or to both.[ActNo. 15 of 1966, Sch., ActNo. 10 of 2006, s. 32.]

Section 369Verify source

§ 370370. Impounding and destruction of counterfeit coinsProvision

Section 370. Impounding and destruction of counterfeit coins Section 370(1) Any officer of the Government or the manager of any bank who receives, during the performance of his duties, any coin which he has reasonable ground for believing to be counterfeit coin shall impound the coin and transmit it to the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya who may cut, deface or destroy it with or without compensation, as he thinks fit if in his opinion it is counterfeit. Section 370(2) For the purposes of this section, the decision of the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya that the coin is counterfeit and that compensation shall be granted or withheld shall be final, and no person shall be entitled to claim and no proceedings or action shall be brought against the Governor, the Government, the officer of Government concerned, the manager of the bank concerned or his bank in respect of any loss or damage suffered by reason of the impounding and cutting, defacing or destruction.[ActNo. 40 of 1952, Sch., ActNo. 24 of 1967, Sch.]

Section 370Verify source

§ 371371. Possession of clippingsProvision

It is a felony for any person to unlawfully possess or dispose of clippings or gold/silver obtained by diminishing coin weight; punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment.

Section 371. Possession of clippings Section Any person who unlawfully has in his possession or disposes of any filings, or clipping of gold or silver, or any gold or silver in bullion, dust, solution, or any other state, obtained by dealing with gold or silver coin in such a manner as to diminish its weight, knowing the same to have been so obtained, is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

Section 371Verify source

§ 372372. Uttering counterfeit coinProvision

Anyone who utters counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 372. Uttering counterfeit coin Section Any person who utters any counterfeit coin, knowing it to be counterfeit, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 372Verify source

§ 373373. Repeated utteringProvision

Utters any counterfeit coin knowing it to be counterfeit while in possession of any other counterfeit coin.

Section 373. Repeated uttering Section utters any counterfeit coin knowing it to be counterfeit, and at the time of such uttering has in his possession any other counterfeit coin; or

Section 373Verify source

§ 374374. Uttering metal or coin not current as coinOffence

It is an offence for any person, with intent to defraud, to pass off certain metal items or non-current coins as lawful coin; the offence carries up to one year imprisonment.

Section 374. Uttering metal or coin not current as coin Section 374(1) Any person who, with intent to defraud, utters as and for coin any medal or piece of metal is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year. Section 374(2) Any person who, with intent to defraud, utters as and for coin lawfully current in Kenya by virtue of any Act, proclamation or otherwise any coin not so lawfully current is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year.

Section 374Verify source

§ 375375. Exporting counterfeit coinProvision

Any person must not export or put on board for export any counterfeit coin knowing it to be counterfeit; doing so makes them guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 375. Exporting counterfeit coin Section Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him, exports or puts on board of a vessel or vehicle of any kind for the purpose of being exported any counterfeit coin whatever, knowing it to be counterfeit, is guilty of a misdemeanour.

Section 375Verify source

§ 376376. Selling articles bearing designs in imitation of currencyProvision

Anyone who, without lawful authority or excuse, sells or offers for sale articles that imitate currency is guilty of a misdemeanour and liable to imprisonment for six months.

Section 376. Selling articles bearing designs in imitation of currency Section Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof whereof lies upon him, sells or offers or exposes for sale any article which bears a design in imitation of any currency or bank note or coin in current use in Kenya or elsewhere is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for six months.

Section 376Verify source

§ 377377. ForfeitureOffence

When a person is convicted of an offence under this Chapter or Chapter XXXV, the court must order forfeiture of forged or counterfeit currency-related items and instruments used in the offence.

Section 377. Forfeiture Section When any person is convicted of an offence under this Chapter or under Chapter XXXV, the court shall order the forfeiture of any forged bank note or currency note or of any counterfeit coin or any stamp, mould, tool, instrument, machine or press, or any coin, bullion or metal, or any article bearing a design in imitation of any currency, bank note or coin used or employed in the commission of any such offence.

Section 377Verify source

§ 378378. Possession of die used for making stampsProvision

Prohibits making, mending, preparing, using, knowingly possessing, or disposing of dies, plates or instruments capable of producing impressions resembling official stamps or specially provided paper.

Section 378. Possession of die used for making stamps Section makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or uses, or knowingly has in his possession, or disposes of, any die, plate or instrument capable of making an impression resembling that made by any die, plate or instrument used for the purpose of making any stamp, whether impressed or adhesive, which is used for the purposes of the public revenue or of the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation in Kenya or in any foreign country, or capable of producing in or on paper any words, figures, letters, marks or lines resembling any words, figures, letters, marks or lines used in or on any paper specially provided by the proper authority for any such purpose; or

Section 378Verify source

§ 379379. Paper and dies for postage stampsProvision

Anyone who, without lawful authority or excuse, makes, prepares, uses, possesses or disposes of imitation postage stamps or the dies/plates/instruments/materials to make them commits a misdemeanour and faces one year imprisonment or a fine of three thousand shillings; such items found in possession shall be forfeited.

Section 379. Paper and dies for postage stamps Section 379(1) Any person who, without lawful authority or excuse, the proof of which lies on him— Section 379(1)(a) makes, or begins or prepares to make, or uses for any postal purpose, or has in his possession, or disposes of, any imitation or representation on paper or any other material of any stamp used for denoting any rate of postage of Kenya, or of any foreign country; or Section 379(1)(b) makes or mends, or begins or prepares to make or mend, or uses, or has in his possession, or disposes of, any die, plate, instrument or material for making any such imitation or representation, is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for one year, or to a fine of three thousand shillings; and any stamps, and any other such things as aforesaid, which are found in his possession, shall be forfeited. Section 379(2) For the purposes of this section, a stamp purporting to denote a rate of postage of any country is to be taken to be a stamp used for postal purposes in that country until the contrary is shown.[ActNo. 24 of 1967, Sch.]

Section 379Verify source

§ 380380. Trade marks definedProvision

Defines "trade marks" to include a mark lawfully used by any person to indicate that a chattel is their manufacture, workmanship, production or merchandise, or a particular description made or sold by them, excluding a trade mark registered under the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 506).

Section 380. Trade marks defined Section a mark, other than a trade mark registered under the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 506), lawfully used by any person to denote any chattel to be an article or thing of the manufacture, workmanship, production or merchandise of such person or to be an article or thing of any peculiar or particular description made or sold by such person; or

Section 380Verify source

§ 381381. Counterfeiting trade marksProvision

Any person who forges, counterfeits, or applies a forged or counterfeit trade mark to goods or related items (or encloses, places or attaches goods with such marks) is guilty of a misdemeanour; the person may avoid conviction by proving they acted without intent to defraud; persons convicted must forfeit specified chattels, instruments and similar things.

Section 381. Counterfeiting trade marks Section 381(1) Any person who does any of the following things, that is to say— Section 381(1)(a) forges or counterfeits any trade mark; Section 381(1)(b) applies any trade mark, or any forged or counterfeit trade mark, to any chattel or article, not being the merchandise of any person whose trade mark is so forged or counterfeited; Section 381(1)(c) applies any trade mark, or any forged or counterfeited trade mark, to any chattel or article, not being the particular or peculiar description of merchandise denoted or intended to be denoted by such trade mark or by such forged or counterfeited trade mark; Section 381(1)(d) applies any trade mark, or any forged or counterfeited trade mark, to any thing intended for any purpose of trade or manufacture, or in, on or with which any chattel or article is intended to be sold, or is sold or offered or exposed for sale; Section 381(1)(e) encloses or places any chattel or article in, upon, under or with any thing to which any trade mark has been falsely applied, or to which any forged or counterfeit trade mark has been applied; Section 381(1)(f) applies or attaches any chattel or article to any case, cover, reel, ticket, label or other thing to which any trade mark has been falsely applied, or to which any false or counterfeit trade mark has been applied; Section 381(1)(g) encloses, places or attaches any chattel or article in, upon, under, with or to any thing having thereon any trade mark of any other person, is guilty of a misdemeanour, unless he proves that he acted without intent to defraud any person. Section 381(2) Every person committing any such misdemeanour as aforesaid shall forfeit— Section 381(2)(a) all chattels and articles to which any such trade mark or counterfeit trade mark is applied or caused or procured to be applied; Section 381(2)(b) every instrument for applying such trade mark or counterfeit trade mark in his possession or power; Section 381(2)(c) the chattels and articles and the things mentioned in paragraphs (d), (e) and (g) of subsection (1), and all similar things made to be used in like manner in his possession or power.

Section 381Verify source

Legislative relationships

0 referenced instruments

Names are derived from the stored provision headings and citation-enrichment layer. Treat this as a research index and verify each relationship against the source text.

No structured legislative relationships were detected

The statute remains fully searchable by provision. Consult the source text for amendments and cross-references that have not yet been indexed.

Recorded versions and source checkpoint

1 version available in this collection

Current-law checkpoint

11 Dec 2023 · currentEnglish

This relationship view does not by itself establish whether another instrument remains in force.

Check official source

Source-linked research

Ask AI about this statute

The overview, provisions, and source records above are public. Continue in a separate conversation with this statute’s jurisdiction and source version attached.