Shocking report reveals almost half of Kenya's murder victims are female

Nearly half of all murder victims in Kenya are women, new data from the Government Chemist department has revealed.

According to a report by the department, out of the 1,624 murder cases processed between 2022 and 2024, 787 were cases of femicide.

This represents 47 per cent of the total forensic cases processed at the Government’s Chemist, with an average 250 femicide cases being processed per year.

The statistics on the scale of the femicide crisis in the country emerged during a public hearing by stakeholders to the Technical Working Group on GBV including Femicide.

Additionally, the agency received 2,495 sexual offence-related cases during the same period, pointing to a crisis of gender-based violence in the country as the criminal justice system struggles to keep pace.

According to William Munyoki, a forensic Analyst at the Government’s Chemist, 265 women were killed in 2024, marking an increase from the 237,259 cases analysed in 2023 and 2022 respectively.

This is in addition to the 100 cases of assault and other violence-related offences, and resolution of over 1600 disputed paternity cases processed within the same three years.

Despite resolving over 2,500 sexual offence cases and more than 1,600 murder cases using forensic DNA technology over the past three years, the agency noted that challenges range from uncollected reports to delayed procurement of supplies.

In his submissions, Munyoki told the taskforce that there are currently 800 case files that remain uncollected hence straining limited storage spaces and delaying closure for victims and families.

“Efforts to have the same collected have not borne much fruit. This has also led to constrained storage facilities of evidential material,” said Munyoki.

Munyoki further mentioned that delays in concluding cases are partly due to irregular supply of reagents, which he said are costly and not available locally, leading to long waiting periods for results in sensitive GBV and femicide cases.

“The inconsistent flow of reagents occasioned by the high cost of the same since they are not locally available and the lengthy procurement procedures have led to delay of DNA analysis. There is also a notable increase in DNA analysis demand due to heightened awareness,” said Munyoki.

Further, the scientist told the task force that delays in forensic analysis are also caused by poor crime scene management and inadequate specialised experts.

According to the department, many investigators and medical officers lack adequate training on how to collect, preserve, label, and submit critical forensic evidence.

Munyoki added that in sexual offence cases, the time window for collecting intimate samples, 72 hours for adults and 24 hours for children, is often missed leading to lost evidence and compromised court cases.