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05-06-2026
NAIROBI: 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 organized 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 organizers 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.
The ultimatum to the government demanding action, issued on May 21, came as the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya reports receiving roughly 70 gender-based violence cases every week across its three offices in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu.
More than 10,500 child protection cases were recorded between January 2025 and March 2026 including 1,952 abductions and 6,820 cases of abandonment, according to data released by Children Services Principal Secretary Carren Ageng’o. Nearly 2,328 children are unaccounted for.
Protesters have accused the government of failing to investigate cases properly, and have called for stronger protections, faster investigations, harsher penalties and more support for affected families.
In response to the pressure, authorities announced late last month the formation of a dedicated investigative unit, combining criminal intelligence analysts, forensic experts, homicide investigators, and other specialists.
Last week, at least 16 students were killed when a fire ripped through a dormitory at a girl’s school in a town in central Kenya, police and a government official say.
Education Minister Julius Ogamba said on Thursday that 79 were injured after the fire broke out overnight at the Utumishi Girls School in Gilgil, Nakuru County.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Police said they were leading rescue and emergency response efforts in the town, located about 120km (74 miles) northwest of the capital, Nairobi.
Footage aired by Citizen Television showed broken window panes and smoke-stained walls. Masoud Mwinyi, a senior police commander, told reporters at the school that 50 officers were combing areas around the facility for students who may have fled when the fire broke out. “Of that shock and fear and anxiety, many people went out, and it was at night,” he said.
Kenya has a long history of school fires. More than 60 cases of arson in public secondary schools were recorded in 2018 alone, according to government data. Many of the fires have been set by students protesting against harsh discipline and poor conditions, researchers have found. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
