In Kenya, the ultimate punishment for serious crimes is no longer the death penalty but life imprisonment, following a landmark 2017 Supreme Court ruling. This judgment granted judges discretion in sentencing, moving away from mandatory fixed punishments to case-specific verdicts.

• Crimes punishable by life imprisonment include murder, treason, violent robbery, and aggravated sexual assault.
• The Sexual Offences Act mandates life imprisonment for defiling a child under seven years old, though a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling changed this to a fixed 40-year sentence.
• The Judiciary is reforming sentencing laws, with judges now using discretion to include rehabilitation possibilities, meaning "life imprisonment" no longer always signifies remaining in prison for the entire life of the convict.