Karua demands urgent action on femicide

People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has called on President William Ruto’s administration to urgently address the rising cases of gender-based violence (GBV), femicide, child disappearances and insecurity.

She also, warned that failures in governance, policing and inaction from the justice system are leaving women and children increasingly vulnerable.

Speaking during the launch of the #ACTNOW campaign against gender-based violence at Mageuzi Hub in Nairobi, Karua said the country’s budgetary priorities have failed to address the root causes of crime, including unemployment, inadequate investment in education, weak policing and delayed justice.

“When we fail to create jobs, invest in education and reform policing, we breed hopelessness, crime and lawlessness,” she said, adding that women, children, the elderly and the poor bear the greatest burden of the country’s security failures.

Karua revisited the Kware dumpsite killings, describing the discovery of dozens of dismembered bodies as one of Kenya’s darkest moments. She questioned how the killings allegedly took place a few metres from a police station and criticized the government’s handling of the investigation.

She claimed that volunteers searching the dumpsite were dispersed before a thorough search could be completed, leaving unanswered questions about whether more victims remained undiscovered.

She also questioned how the main suspect reportedly escaped from Gigiri Police Station, saying no police officers had been held accountable for the incident.

“The message being sent is that women’s lives do not matter,” she said.

Karua argued that the handling of the Kware case also reflected wider institutional failures and accused the authorities of failing to demonstrate equal commitment to investigating crimes against women.

She cited official child protection statistics, saying that between January 2025 and March 2026, 10,500 child protection cases were recorded. According to Karua, the cases included 1,600 missing children, 2,000 abductions, 6,800 cases of child abandonment and 173 cases of child trafficking. “Behind every number is a child whose future is at risk,” she said.

Karua further criticized the justice system for retraumatizing survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, recounting the case of a 14-year-old girl who was allegedly required to testify in open court in a sexual abuse case before lawyers intervened to seek protective measures. She said such experiences discourage victims from reporting crimes and undermine confidence in the justice system.

The PLP leader also condemned recent incidents of violence and abductions, saying she had personally experienced goon violence earlier this week. She argued that providing security only to political leaders does not make the country safer and called for equal protection for all citizens.

Karua concluded by launching the #ACTNOW campaign, describing it as a non-political citizens' movement aimed at raising awareness, supporting survivors and demanding the full implementation of the Nancy Baraza Report.