In the past week, 15 women have been reported murdered in Kenya, underscoring a relentless femicide crisis that permeates our society.
These are the innocent lives of daughters, mothers, sisters, family and friends. These were women with dreams and futures stolen!
The most recent horrifying case was the late Lucy Wamaitha, whose only misstep was going on an assignment out of town with her employer.
Her only mistake was being human and trusting that she was safe, only for her remains to be found mutilated and partially burned in River Sagana.
Lucy’s case and the many cases highlight the pervasive danger women still face, not just in public spaces, but also in our workplaces, homesteads, schools, markets, hospitals, and police stations.
Let us agree that femicide is never random, it is systemic and thrives on weak law enforcement, deep-rooted misogyny, a culture of mishandled cases, lack of accessible data, and delayed justice.
In 2024, Kenya recorded 170 femicides, the highest ever, and in January 2025, 21 women turned up dead in just one week. Statistics have indicated that 70% of the victims were murdered by their intimate partners and that young women aged 18-35 are the most affected.
The justice system is painfully slow, taking up to four years to reach a verdict, while, meanwhile, perpetrators walk freely.
In response to some of these violent acts, I’ve seen women from Enkakenya Centre for Excellence in Kilgoris, Narok County learning about self-defence to protect themselves from sexual violence and early teen marriages.
I note that the government has acknowledged the severity of this matter and has created a specialised police unit and a presidential working group on GBV including Femicide to provide recommendations on how to stop Gender-Based violence including femicide in Kenya.
My only question is: “How many more women must die before urgency matches action?”
Despite the existence of The Sexual Offences Act (2006), Protection Against Domestic Violence Act (2015), and National Policy on Prevention & Response to GBV (2014) frameworks, many victims and survivors are unaware of their provisions, the mishandling of GBV cases by authorities.
The alarming rise in femicide cases highlights the disconnect between our laws and the stark reality. To bridge this gap between our legal frameworks and the safety of women, urgent action needs to be taken:
- Legislative reforms to amend our current law to define and consider femicide a crime for which there is zero tolerance in Kenya.
- We need to leverage data, technology, and transparency to track progress in the fight against GBV. One of the biggest challenges in addressing these cases is the lack of reliable and easily accessible data. If we had a centralised database for GBV cases, we could easily track trends, hold authorities accountable, and measure the effectiveness of interventions.
- Men do have a big role to play in ending femicide and all other forms of GBV. Let’s involve them right from the curriculum, in communities, and in schools to challenge harmful gender norms and stop violence before it happens.
- The right to life of every human being, male or female, is inalienable. The media should report cases accurately as murder and crime, rather than labeling them as “acting out of character.”
Kenya, like many other countries, is a signatory to international treaties such as CEDAW and the Maputo Protocol 2024 (Maputo Protocol), both of which call for the elimination of discrimination and violence against girls and women.
The Presidential Working Group is conducting public participation on recommendations to curb GBV but we’re alarmingly witnessing women disappearing and turning up dead, their names fading into statistics, their cases buried faster than they are solved. Can we afford to wait for paperwork while more bodies increase and pile up?
I remain steadfast in advocating for the rights and safety of women and girls in Kenya and beyond. Together, we can create a world where women and girls live free from fear and violence, and where their rights are fully respected and protected. What happens next will define us all.
Women deserve safety. Women deserve respect. Women deserve dignity.
Nellie Chepkemoi is a specialist in public policy, advocacy, and governance, serving as a legislative analyst and advisor on gender equality and social justice.
