NAIROBI, Kenya – Stung by the rising cases of femicide, President William Ruto’s Cabinet has approved the establishment of a presidential working group to develop a comprehensive approach to addressing the vice.
A communique from the Cabinet showed that the working group will engage religious leaders, parents, schools, security agencies, and all other stakeholders to identify gaps in law, enforcement, and social values contributing to this crisis.
“The team will be gazetted with clear terms of reference and tasked with delivering actionable recommendations within 90 days,” the statement from the Cabinet sitting reads in part.
The rising cases of femicide in Kenya have sparked significant concern and criticism towards the government for its inaction.
Why human rights organisations have condemned the government
Human rights organisations, including Fida and the Law Society of Kenya, have condemned the government for failing to adequately address these violent crimes, which are becoming alarmingly frequent.
Recent reports indicate that at least 58 femicides have been recorded in early 2024 alone, prompting public protests across major cities against the violence faced by women.
Earlier, Y News reported the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Kenya and Amnesty International Kenya strongly condemned the arbitrary detention without charge of human rights defenders following the end of the femicide march on December 10, 2024.
In a statement seen by Y News, the organisations stated that their lawyers and those from the Law Society of Kenya, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights were in court on Monday, December 16, 2024, to release five persons, including Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton, charged with “unlawful assembly.”.
“Advocates of the five accused persons were informed that there was no charge sheet and were unconditionally released. Given the unlawful arrests and brutalisation of several protesters, this was a welcome development,” the lobby groups said in a statement.
How End Femicide March human rights were treated in detention
However, the human rights bodies noted that the accused persons were assaulted, deprived of liberty, arrested, and bonded to appear in court.
“The practice of holding persons without charging them has been abused in a bid to harass, intimidate, and threaten human rights defenders,” the statement further reads.
On December 10, 2024, International Human Rights Day, a peaceful march was organised to highlight the rise in femicide cases across Kenya.
“It descended into chaos when uniformed and ununiformed officers of the National Police Service chose violence over engagement. Despite fulfilling all legal requirements, including submitting a notification to the Office of the Regional Police Commander on December 4, 2024, protest organisers were met with disdain and obstruction,” the activists lamented.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto chaired the Cabinet on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, which is the last for this year.
