Ruto promises to deal with increasing femicide cases

President William Ruto has condemned rising cases of femicide and called for concerted efforts to deal with both the criminal and moral aspects of the menace that has escalated to alarming levels.

The President yesterday regretted that the very men expected to protect women and girls have turned against them, committing killings, and he pledged to provide police with resources to deal with the problem.

But even as he promised to ensure the criminal element of the vice is done away with, Dr Ruto also called on parents to take a keen interest in the moral fabric of society.

“It is true that we have a big problem. Our young people, especially girls are being killed arbitrarily, instead of showing them love, it has now turned into killing them. How can it be that our girls, women of Kenya that expect us to love them but now they are dying in the hands of men?" posed the President.

According to Dr Ruto, the country has both a criminal and moral problem, which should be addressed comprehensively if the menace is to be completely done away with.

The Head of State at the same time urged Kenyans to take individual responsibility to end the vice hurting women and girls as opposed to pointing fingers on who should address the problem.

“As government, I want to promise we will go out of our way, provide resources for our police to deal with this challenge, but equally, as parents, starting with myself, we must also deal with the moral issue. Let us not just finger point as to who should do what,” Ruto said.

“We should also begin by saying… what will I do as a citizen so that I can stop this menace because it is hurting our girls, families and citizenry. We need to work together and we will have a comprehensive programme on how we are going to address this in a wholesome manner so that we can deal with the criminal issues but also apply our minds to the moral issues in our society,” he added. 

He was speaking yesterday when he attended Sunday service at the African Divine Church in Nairobi, accompanied by several leaders including Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Majority Leaders in the National Assembly and Senate Kimani Ichung’wah and Aaron Cheruiyot respectively as well as Nakuru and Nairobi Governors Susan Kihika and Johnson Sakaja respectively among other leaders.

Ms Kihika stated perpetrators of femicide must be brought to book, maintaining that any other life lost is a life too many, and that the country cannot afford this worrying trend any longer.

“On the femicide issue happening in the country, Mr President, I wish you would declare it a national crisis because the number of women and girls killed this year alone is something we have never seen before and especially how they are being killed,” she noted.

She challenged men to actively join in the conversation to end the vice, even as she urged parents to stay alert, especially now that schools are closed for the long holiday and children must be kept safe.

“We have never seen something like boiling a human body, so it is not okay. We want you to whip to shape, be it the security agencies that are supposed to deal with these issues. We want to see perpetrators brought to book,” Ms Kihika said.

She added: “As a governor, mother, sister and a wife, I’m in a space where we need prayers but we also need to see security agencies get serious, perpetrators being hauled in court and being jailed so that it works as a deterrent.”

Sakaja condemned the acts of femicide, as he regretted that some of the perpetrators are only locked up for a short while and allowed back to the community, posing an even greater danger.

“These people should be denied bail. If I gave you a copy of the cases I see in a day especially in informal settlements, you will shed a tear. It is very sad. I think enough is enough. I know there is the law but some of these things are too much,” Sakaja said.

He said these acts must come to an end, saying that a strong man is the one who protects a woman not harm them.

Sakaja said that his administration is in the process of constructing safe houses for victims of gender-based violence, adding that the county has already built a safe house in Gigiri.

“We are building safe houses, and we have one in Gigiri already. Please do not hesitate to seek help when you are abused,” Sakaja said.

Last week, the National Police Service (NPS) said that at least 97 cases of femicide were reported in the last three months and pledged to pursue all reported cased to their logical end.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Eliud Lagat regretted a disturbing pattern of murder incidences over the past two years and promised to conduct thorough investigations.

"In the last three months alone, the country has reported 97 femicide cases. This troubling trend underscores the urgent need for coordinated action and collaboration to address the pervasive issue of gender-based violence," Lagat said.

Separately, human rights organisations led by Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA-K) said the country must recognise that femicide is a growing crisis and demanded government address systemic failures that threaten the safety of women and girls.

The organisations cited the gruesome murder of Starlet Wahu and Rita Waeni. 

“Since then, media reports have highlighted the murders of at least six women whose bodies were dumped in Kware Embakasi, shocking the entire country. The main suspect in these horrific murders, Collins Jumaisi escaped from Gigiri police and to date, his whereabouts are unknown,” stated Christine Kungu, Fida chairperson.

Other recent disturbing murders include those of Florence Mueni, Alice Ayuma, Vera Mugambi, Seth Nyakio Njeri, Rebecca Cheptegei, Christine Nyakio and Amina Abdi, Rashid Dahir together with her daughter and niece.

Last week, the country woke up to reports that the body of Yvonne Jirangwa, a 23-year old Catholic nun trainee was found in a sewer pit in Rongo.

“The murder of one woman or girl is one too many. It is unacceptable and we refuse to normalize these occurrences in our country. In 2024, FIDA is aware of at least 30 cases of women who have died in the hands of intimate partners as a result of domestic violence and femicide,” regretted Ms Kungu.

Although FIDA-K is aware the cases have been reported to the police, the organisation is concerned with the slow pace of investigations.