Nairobi, 26th January 2024: Amnesty International Kenya strongly condemns the profiling, torture and killing of women and any other individual based on their identity. Over 10 cases of femicide have been reported across the country since 1 January 2024. That is, every second day, a woman has been brutalised and killed because of her identity. Between 2016 and 2023, over 500 women have been killed. The majority of those murdered were below the age of 35 years and were killed by intimate partners or people known to them.
Femicide is the most brutal manifestation of gender-based violence. It is unacceptable and must never be normalised. Amnesty International Kenya cautions all people that law enforcement agencies are obligated to protect the right to life and dignity under Constitution Article 26 and 28
Tomorrow 27 January, Amnesty staff and members will participate in several marches called by women to demand an end to femicide against women and girls. We call upon all Kenyans to show up and raise their voice against rising violence that violate international and Kenyan laws and create an existential threat to the lives of women and girls.
The peaceful protests will take place in various counties including Nairobi, Mombasa, Machakos, Uasin Gishu, Homabay, Kisumu, Kilifi, Nyeri, Busia and Nakuru. They will call on all the relevant government agencies to expedite the investigations, prosecution and serve justice to all recent victims of sexual and gender-based violence.
Violence is not normal and must never be normalised by our silence and inaction.
#EndFemicideKE
For more information and interviews, contact Mathias T. Kinyoda on Mobile: +254723424802 | Email: [email protected]