Femicide: How 97 women were killed in Kenya in three months — Police

Kenyan Deputy Inspector General of Police, Eliud Kipkoech Lagat, has decried the rise in femicide in the country, with at least 97 women brutally killed in just three months.

The disturbing trend has drawn widespread condemnation from activists, human rights groups, and international organisations concerned about the safety of women in Kenya.

Speaking during a recent press briefing, Lagat revealed that cases of murder and manslaughter targeting women have surged since 2022, highlighting a deep-seated crisis of gender-based violence.

He said, “This troubling trend highlights the urgent need for focused actions and collaboration to tackle the widespread problem of gender-based violence in our society.”

Lagat noted that some victims were murdered in hotel rooms, while others’ mutilated bodies were discovered in quarries or bushes miles away from their homes.

The recent killing of a mother and her two daughters in the country, as well as the discovery of decomposed bodies of several women in an abandoned quarry in Mukuru, south of Nairobi, underscore the horrific nature of these crimes.

According to a report by Missing Perspectives, some victims were beheaded, while others were dismembered, painting a harrowing picture of violence.

Reacting to the trend, President William Ruto has declared war on the perpetrators and instructed security agencies to act decisively.

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During the swearing-in of Deputy President Professor Kithure Kindiki, Ruto said, “The DCI and all the investigative authorities must stand up to these criminals, and we must deal decisively and firmly.”

His remarks followed calls from the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and other women’s rights organisations urging the government to declare femicide a national crisis.

In a joint statement, human rights groups led by FIDA-K noted that at least 30 women have died at the hands of intimate partners in the past three months, with extreme domestic violence being a key driver.

“These are not just statistics but innocent women whose lives were cut short by horrifying acts of violence, changing the lives of their families forever,” the statement read.

UN Women reports that over 500 women and girls have been murdered in Kenya since 2016, despite the government’s commitment to ending gender-based violence by 2026 under Generation Equality’s Action Coalition. Concerns, however, remain over the enforcement of existing laws and the lack of accountability for perpetrators.

The issue gained further attention after the escape of Collins Jumaisi Khalusha, a suspected serial killer, from police custody.

Khalusha, who admitted to killing 42 women, was arrested in July 2024 in connection with the discovery of six bodies in a Nairobi quarry. His escape, along with 12 Eritrean nationals, has sparked outrage and raised questions about potential complicity within the police.

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