Why men must lead the fight against femicide

A worrying national trend has been playing out via athletics. Kenya has made international headlines for all the wrong reasons. Female athletes — women who embodied resilience, discipline, and national pride — have been brutally murdered by the very men they thought would protect them.

Agnes Tirop, Damaris Muthee Mutua, Rebecca Cheptegei — their names join an ever-growing list of women whose lives were cut short in acts of intimate partner violence. Tragically, their deaths are not outliers. This reflects a deep-seated national crisis that has played out in silence.

This is where the 2025 Men’s Conference comes in. Long dismissed as a social media joke, this year, men — led by actor and influencer Abel Mutua in partnership with Director Isaya Evans — transformed it into something real, urgent, and deeply necessary. Men from all walks of life gathered in Nairobi to have raw, uncomfortable conversations about Gender-Based Violence, accountability and their role in changing the culture. 

The message was clear: being a ‘good man’ is not enough. Men must hold one another accountable. They must speak up. They must clean up their act — they must 'Safisha Rada'. This won’t be comfortable, but why should it be?

After all, femicide and GBV in Kenya have reached terrifying levels. In 2024 alone, over 170 women were killed, making it the deadliest year in recent history. The patterns are painfully clear — nearly 70 per cent of these women were murdered by intimate partners, and three-quarters of these crimes occurred in the supposed safety of their homes. Of course, the violence does not begin with murder; it starts at home, in conversations, in unchecked misogyny and entitlement. It thrives in silence.

The brutal killings of athletes Agnes Tirop and Rebecca Cheptegei highlighted the urgent crisis of femicide in Kenya. With over 100 cases reported between August and October 2024, gender-based violence has become a national emergency demanding immediate action.

The legal response has been sluggish at best. While there has been a 118 per cent increase in convictions for femicide cases in 2024, with perpetrators receiving an average sentence of 23 years, justice remains slow and uneven. On average, it takes four years for a femicide case to reach a verdict. In rural and marginalised areas, many cases never even make it that far. The real numbers for all cases — including non-lethal injuries — are likely far worse than reported.

But this is not just a legal issue — it is a societal and cultural one. And if Kenya is to turn the tide, it will take more than laws and policies. It will take a cultural reckoning. It will take men stepping up — not just by avoiding wrongdoing but by actively confronting it. The time for bystanders is over. The time for action is now.

Safisha Rada has evolved into a movement. It is a call for men to challenge their brothers, friends, and colleagues when they cross the line. It is a demand that men stop enabling or excusing toxic behaviour. As Abel Mutua puts it, “Every man who attended the conference left with a challenge: when you see wrongdoing, don’t stay silent. Don’t look away. Say something. Safisha Rada, and help clean up society.”

Ferdinand Omanyala, Africa’s fastest man, linked accountability in sports to life: “In athletics, accountability is everything. You can’t achieve greatness without holding yourself and your teammates to the highest standards. The same applies in life — men must stop excusing bad behaviour.”

This moment cannot be allowed to pass. The time for silence is over. GBV and femicide are not just women’s issues — they are national emergencies. It is time to Safisha Rada.

The writer is an influencer