Stop Femicide and Declare it a National Crisis, Government Urged
By Simon Mwalim
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
A Mombasa based organisation dedicated to stopping femicide has called on the government to declare the killing of women a national crisis.
Joyce Achieng, organisation coordinator, expressed concern over the rising cases of femicide that continue to spread daily coubtrywide without any action taken against the perpetrators.
The coordinator urged the government to implement appropriate measures to ensure that those responsible for the murders of women were held accountable as quickly as possible.
“We appeal to President William Ruto to declare killing of women as a national crisis. There’s an upsurge of such cases while the perpetrators go unpunished,” she said.
She referenced to several reported cases of femicide, such as the case of Muthoni Nyanjiru, who was killed while leading protests demanding the release of Harry Thuku, and Elizabeth Ekaru, who was murdered under mysterious circumstances, with the criminals responsible still at large.
The coordinator criticised security agencies for sleeping on the job instead of finding quick solutions of femicide cases that was prolonging the pursuit for justice.
“It’s disheartening to see security agencies taking so long to track down these criminals, delaying justice for the victims.”
The organisation reminded President William Ruto of his promise to end the killing of women urging him to officially declare it a national crisis.
Besides calling on the government, the organisation urged the judiciary to prioritize investigations of all cases involving the killing of women to deliver justice swiftly to the families affected.
“Cases of femicide often take a very long time to resolve, sometimes lasting nearly 1,900 days, which makes it difficult for victims’ families to obtain justice.”
It issued an appeal to the judiciary to create a special department and implement specific court regulations to handle this matter promptly.
Meanwhile, an activist of the organisation Malala Luta said that 97 per cent of the reported femicide cases occurred within three months which was an alarmingly.
She noted that those cases often involved young girls whose dreams were crushed by the violence they experienced calling on communities to stop resolving such cases privately and instead bring perpetrators to court for justice.
“We urge communities to stop handling these serious matters at home and instead bring the cases to court so justice can be served,” she said.
The organisation stated that if appropriate steps were not taken, they would stage protests to pressure the government to declare femicide a national crisis.
