Bombay Durpun - 'Stop killing women': Kenyans protest femicide scourge

At least 69 women have been killed in the east African country since January, according to data compiled by data firm Odipo Dev and media outlet Africa Uncensored.

The Kenyan government has also recorded 10,581 missing children over the past 16 months, including 1,952 abductions and 173 trafficking cases.

Dressed in white T-shirts and waving "End Femicide and Pedicide" placards, the protesters brought the centre of Nairobi to a standstill with chants and loud mournful cries, and blocked a main street with a billboard bearing the names of more than 500 victims.

"It is traumatic, I don't know if I am next," activist Racheal Mwikali told AFP.

Julie Ochieng displayed the obituary of her daughter, 28-year-old Kristabel Anyango, who she said was killed after trying to leave a toxic relationship.

"If you are tired of them, just let them go. Stop killing women," she said.

- 'Small cases' -

Femicide is widely used to refer to the killing of women and girls due to their gender, but is not recognised as a distinct crime under Kenyan law.

Activists say that gap contributes to cases going undocumented and others "lagging in the judicial system".

FIDA Kenya, a women's rights organisation, says half its 70 weekly cases are linked to physical and sexual violence by partners.

"There are no consequences, they are being brushed off as small cases... We need serious action and punitive measures," protester Njeri Mwangi told AFP.

Veronicah Were, an anti-femicide activist in one of Nairobi's slums, said she personally knew 10 women who had been killed.

"I have been following up on those cases but most of them end in silence," Were said.

"Femicide should stand as an offence on its own in our law, that way we will end it," she added.

Amnesty International described the trend as a "national security crisis" saying "every delayed response costs lives." s

The worst year on record in Kenya was 2024, with an average of 16 women killed every month, according to Odipo Dev and Africa Uncensored.

President William Ruto set up a taskforce on the issue last year but activists say there has been no action.

"When will our demands be implemented? The killings are still going on," Were said.

O.Mallick--BD