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The Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) Regulations

Legal Notice 349 of 1968

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The Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) Regulations
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Legal Notice 349 of 1968
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Films and Stage Plays Act
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Language
English
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Legal Notice
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LAWS OF KENYA

FILMS AND STAGE PLAYS ACT

THE FILMS AND STAGE PLAYS (FILM CENSORSHIP) REGULATIONS

LEGAL NOTICE 349 OF 1968

  • Commenced on 22 November 1968
  1. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1976 (Legal Notice 107 of 1976) on 18 June 1976]
  2. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1988 (Legal Notice 426 of 1988) on 7 October 1988]
  3. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1989 (Legal Notice 126 of 1989) on 7 April 1989]
  4. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1990 (Legal Notice 359 of 1990) on 17 August 1990]
  5. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1990 (Legal Notice 452 of 1990) on 9 November 1990]
  6. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1993 (Legal Notice 133 of 1993) on 21 May 1993]
  7. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 1994 (Legal Notice 166 of 1994) on 20 May 1994]
  8. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2005 (Legal Notice 34 of 2005) on 20 May 1994]
  9. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2007 (Legal Notice 102 of 2007) on 22 June 2007]
  10. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2008 (Legal Notice 129 of 2008) on 15 February 2008]
  11. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2009 (Legal Notice 13 of 2009) on 6 February 2009]
  12. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2010 (Legal Notice 43 of 2010) on 16 April 2010]
  13. [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
  14. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (Legal Notice 115 of 2024) on 15 July 2024]
  15. [Amended by Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (Legal Notice 186 of 2024) on 14 November 2024]

1. Citation

These Regulations may be cited as the Films and Stage Plays (Film Censorship) Regulations.

Membership of the Board

2. [Deleted by L.N. 43/2010, r. 2.]

3. [Deleted by L.N. 43/2010, r. 3.]

4. Tenure of office of members of Board

(1)The chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Board shall hold office as such, and as members of the Board, until their appointments are terminated by the Cabinet Secretary.
(2)The members of the Board appointed under section 11A of the Act shall hold office for a period of three (3) years, renewable once.[L.N. 43/2010, r. 4.]

5. Remuneration of Board members

The Board shall pay its members such remuneration, fees or allowances for expenses as it may determine in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to finance.[L.N. 43/2010, r. 5.]

Meetings of the Board

6. Presiding at meetings of Board

(1)The chairman, or in his absence the Vice-chairman, shall preside over all meetings of the Board, and over all committees of the Board of which he is a member.
(2)If both the chairman and the Vice-chairman are absent from a meeting of the Board a person shall be chosen by the members present from among their number to preside at that meeting.

7. Quorum of Board

The quorum for the conduct of business of the meetings of the Board shall be five members.[L.N. 43/2010, r. 6.]

8. Members of Board having interest in film or poster

(1)A member of the Board who has any material or financial interest in a film shall not take any part in any proceedings of the Board which are concerned with that film or a poster or description relating to it.
(2)Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine not exceeding two thousand shillings.

9. Procedure of Board

Subject to the Act and these Regulations, the Board may regulate its own procedure.

General

10. [Deleted by L.N. 43/2010, r. 7.]

11. Certificate of approval

(1)A certificate of approval issued under section 16(5) of the Act shall—
(a)in the case of a filming license, be in Form 1 set out in the First Schedule;
(b)in the case of a film poster, be in Form 2 set out in the First Schedule; and
(c)be signed by the Chief Executive Officer.
(2)A certificate of approval or a decision of the Board under section 16(1)(c) of the Act refusing to approve a film for exhibition to the public shall remain valid for a period of five years from the date the certificate is issued or the decision is made.
(a)Where the film approved is on video cassette or video disc, the Board shall affix to the video cassettes or video discs labels in forms approved by the Cabinet Secretary which shall be—
(i)green labels with letter U in a triangle for films approved for general exhibition;
(ii)yellow labels with the letters PG in a triangle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of ten years;
(iii)blue labels with the number 15 in a circle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of 16 years;
(iv)red labels with the number 18 in a circle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of 18 years and for adults only.
(b)The inscription on the labels under this paragraph shall be in gold.
(3)Where the film is approved, the Board shall cause to be displayed classification labels which shall be—
(a)green label with the letters “GE” in a triangle for films approved for General Exhibition;
(b)yellow labels with the letters “PG-10” in a triangle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of ten years;
(c)orange labels with the letters “PG-13” in a triangle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of thirteen years;
(d)blue labels with the number “16” in a circle for films approved as unsuitable for children under the age of sixteen years; and
(e)red labels with the number “18” in a circle for films approved as unsuitable for children under age of eighteen years and for adults only.
(3A)The inscription on the labels under sub-regulation (3)(a), (c), (d) and (e), shall be in white and the inscriptions on the labels under sub-regulation (3)(b) shall be in black.
(4)A person who contravenes the provisions of paragraph (4) commits an offence.
(5)An offence under paragraph (5) shall be cognizable to the police.[L.N. 126/1989, r. 2, L.N. 133/1993, r. 2, L.N. 166/1994, r. 2, L.N. 115/2024, r. 2, L.N. 186/2024, r. 2.]

12. Board to notify the applicant where approval withheld

Where the Board declines to approve a film, poster or description of a poster, it shall notify the applicant as soon as practicable and give him its reasons for doing so.

13. Appeal to the Cabinet Secretary

An appeal under section 29 of the Act by a person who is aggrieved by a decision of the Board shall be made to the Cabinet Secretary in writing within thirty days of the decision having been notified to the person aggrieved, and shall state in detail the grounds of appeal:Provided that the Cabinet Secretary may in writing extend the period of making an appeal under this regulation if he deems it fit to do so.[L.N. 133/1993, r. 2.]

14. Fees

The fees specified in the Second Schedule shall be paid for the several matters to which they relate:Provided that the Board may, with the approval of the Cabinet Secretary, remit all or part of the fee payable on application for a certificate of approval of a film, poster or description of a poster in appropriate cases.

FIRST SCHEDULE [r. 11(1)]

FORMS

[L.N. 115/2024, r. 3, L.N. 186/2024, r. 3.]
 
FORM 1
 
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL OF FILM
 
Date of Issue .....................Certificate Number ..........................
In accordance with Section 16(5) of the Films and Stage Plays Act, the Kenya Film Classification Board hereby certifies that it has examined the film titled ………………………………. and has approved it for exhibition to the public as:
GEGeneral Exhibition
PG-10Parental Guidance recommended for children under 10 years old
PG-13Parental Guidance recommended for children under 13 years old
PG-16Not Suitable for Children Under 16 years old
Adults OnlyAdults Only
 
with the following thematic elements...............................................................
This Certificate is hereby granted to .................................................
for exhibition in ....................................................................................
 
 .............................................
 Chief Executive Officer

________________________________

 
FORM 2
 
APPROVAL OF POSTER OR DESCRIPTION OF POSTER
 
Date of Issue .................................Certificate Number ..........................
In accordance with section 16(5) of the Films and Stage Plays Act, the Kenya Film Classification Board hereby certifies that it has examined the poster (or) the description of the poster relating to
..........................................................................................................................
and has:
o Approved it for public display.
o Not Approved for public display.
 .........................................................
 Chief Executive Officer

SECOND SCHEDULE[r. 14.]

CLASSIFICATION FEES

[L.N. 107/1976, r. 2, L.N. 452/1990, r. 2, L.N. 426/1988, r. 2, L.N. 34/2005, r. 2, L.N. 102/2007, r. 2, L.N. 129/2008, r. 4, L.N. 13/2009, r. 2, L.N. 115/2024, r. 4, L.N. 186/2024, r. 4.]
BandFees (Ksh.)
Local filmForeign film
A. Film85 per minute100 per minute
B. Trailer1,0001,000
C. Poster1,0001,000
D. Commercial5,00010,000
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