Protestors participated in anti-femicide demonstrations in Nairobi on Saturday in the largest event ever held in Kenya against sexual and gender-based violence. Thousands of activists marched in cities and towns across the nation, calling for the government to act following a series of murders of women in January.

Thousands of women marched in cities and towns across the nation, carrying placards that called for an end to femicide. Activists were seen carrying signs that read #StopKillingUs #EndFemicideKe #TotalShutDownKe and WeJustWantToLive, with others bearing the names of women who had lost their lives to gender-based violence in recent months.

The nationwide demonstration was prompted by a recent surge in violence against women, with more than 10  women losing their lives to femicide since the beginning of the year.”That is, every second day, a woman has been brutalised and killed because of her identity” said Amnesty International Kenya.

The two most recent murders of Kenyan women, Starlet Wahu and Rita Waeni, gained public attention, involving brutal acts of dismemberment.

Activists in Kenya say the nation is experiencing an epidemic of femicide, calling on the government to address the issue and initiate change. Femicide is a brutal manifestation of gender-based violence which involves the intentional killing of women or girls because they are female. Femicide Count Kenya recorded at least 152 known femicides in 2023 – the highest recording in 5 years. The organisation reports that these acts are often at the hands of men known to the victims, such as partners or family members.

Additionally, Africa Data Hub’s Femicide database compiled more than 500 cases of women being killed by their partners in Kenya from January 2016 to December 2023. The report suggested:

Through this comprehensive collection of killings, it becomes evident that these tragedies are far more than have been identified. And that the cases are not isolated; instead, they reveal recurring patterns, indicating a deeper and more systemic issue.

To address the increasing number of cases, activists and human rights groups are asking for more effective government policies and implementation. Human Rights Watch released a media statement on Saturday in correspondence with the march. The post stated:

The government of Kenya should acknowledge femicide as a national crisis. It must also fulfil its obligations under both national and international law to prevent and address violence against women and the patriarchal norms and gender inequality that underpin it.

Law Society of Kenya President Eric Theuri was among the demonstrators in Nairobi. He told reporters that cases of gender-based violence take too long to be heard in court, which he thinks contributes to the increasing incidence of crimes against women.

“As we speak right now, we have a shortage of about 10 judges, we have a shortage of 200 magistrates and adjudicators, and so that means that the wheel of justice grinds slowly as a result of inadequate provisions of resources,” said Theuri.

State House, the residence of President William Samoei Ruto, has responded to the rising incidents of intimate partner violence. In a statement on Friday, the President’s Advisor on Women’s Rights, Harriette Chiggai, condemned the ongoing violence against women. Chiggai raised concern about how Kenyan society “has allowed such a decay that does not hold human life sacred and wore still that looks at women as objects to be abused.”