Wave of killings fuels femicide emergency calls

Vocal Africa members led by Administrator Mitchelle Ijai, Rapid Assistant Stacy Akinyi and a member Jacline Anyango address the media at their head office in Nairobi, on May 6, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard] 

The killing of two young girls, days apart, has reignited urgent calls to declare femicide a national crisis in Kenya.

In Tharaka Nithi County, the body of three-year-old Shirley Gatumi was discovered a day after she went missing on May 4, 2026 near Mbakuri, close to Iriani Primary School. Reports indicate she was strangled and dismembered, with one arm and both legs severed. The child, whose father is a recent graduate and whose mother is still in school, was reportedly shaved and suffered severe head injuries.

Barely a week earlier in Kilifi County, eight-year-old Bernedict Keziah, a Grade Two pupil at Little Angels School, was allegedly defiled before being murdered. She had gone missing from her home in the Mwenzagombe Bofa area, and her body was later found dumped by the roadside near St Patrick in Mkoroshoni, bearing multiple injuries.

As the country grappled with the shock of the killings, another disturbing case emerged in Mukuru kwa Njenga, Nairobi, where Mary Ndunge, 52, was allegedly killed by her son. Police reports indicate her body was found in a pool of blood inside her rented house, with allegations that she had been assaulted before the fatal attack.

The back-to-back incidents have intensified pressure on the government, with human rights activists demanding urgent action. Speaking during a press conference in Nairobi, activists convened by Vocal Africa described the killings as part of an escalating pattern of violence against women and girls.

“These are not isolated incidents. These are acts of terror against women and girls,” said Mitchele Ijqai of Vocal Africa, citing recent cases including the killing of 11-year-old Gloria Kaize in Mombasa, whose body was reportedly doused in acid after she was raped and murdered.

Activists accused the state of failing to respond decisively, criticising the National Police Service over delayed investigations, compromised crime scenes and slow arrests.

“How many more women and girls must be raped, mutilated and murdered before the government acts decisively?” asked Jackline Anyango of the Unicorn Girls Resource Centre.

Among their demands is the immediate declaration of femicide as a national disaster, alongside the establishment of a multi-agency emergency response framework. The group also called for disciplinary action against officers who mishandle cases and the creation of a specialised prosecution unit within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to fast-track justice.

The Judiciary was urged to treat such cases with greater urgency and caution when granting bail in sexual violence cases.

The renewed calls come despite a 2025 report by the Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence, chaired by Dr Nancy Baraza, which proposed sweeping reforms to curb femicide. Activists say most recommendations remain unimplemented. 

According to the report, 77 per cent of femicide victims are killed by people known to them, often intimate partners. “Femicide is not merely a criminal issue. It is a national, security and human rights crisis,” said activist Yurub Isaak, urging urgent government intervention to protect women and girls.