Protesters call on Kenyan government to halt femicide crisis

Thousands of Kenyans have marched through central Nairobi to demand that the government declare a national crisis over rising cases of femicide and child disappearances.

The march, composed mostly of women, was organised on Monday by the End Femicide movement alongside women’s rights, human rights, and child protection groups. It was one of the largest demonstrations against gender-based violence the Kenyan capital has seen in months , and brought traffic to a standstill across parts of the city’s central business district.

The protest organisers used the brutal murder of a gospel singer, Rachel Wandeto, to rally support.

Wandeto was doused with petrol and set on fire by three men as she walked home in Nairobi on May 16. She suffered burns to over 85 percent of her body and died two days later at Kenyatta National Hospital.

The lobby groups have given the Kenyan government a 40-day ultimatum to declare gender-based violence a national crisis, or face nationwide protests.

Participants dressed in white carried red roses and gathered around symbolic coffins covered in flower petals in a tribute to the victims. A large wall listing the names of the dead stood at the centre of the gathering beneath the message “Stop Femicide in Kenya”.

Protesters carried placards reading “Stop Killing Women,” “Enough is Enough,” and “End Pedicide”.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga joined the march, lending his voice to calls for stronger government action.