Campaign against domestic violence gains momentum

On April 9, 2019, Ivy Wangechi was hacked to death using an axe outside the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret. The main suspect was Naftali Kinuthia, her boyfriend. 

Her murder shocked the nation and made headlines. In March this year, Kinuthia lifted the lid on why he killed his girlfriend. Testifying in the case where he is accused of murdering Wangechi, he said he acted out of jealousy and anger.

He told court that he acted after seeing her long-time friend and intimate lover hugging another man on her birthday when he had travelled all the way from Nairobi to Eldoret to wish her happy birthday and had even paid Sh14,000 for the birthday party.

The accused recalled getting an axe from his car to attack Ivy but noted that he was not himself during the events that led to Ivy’s death. High Court Judge Stephen Githinji had on December 6, 2022, ruled that he had a case to answer and directed that he be placed on the defence.

In January 2018, Lucy Njambi Ndung’u’s death shocked the country. She was attacked, raped and doused with acid, sustaining 60 per cent burns. According to a neighbour, Lucy was picked up by her husband, who was in the company of other unidentified men, from her apartment, at night when the ordeal happened.

Also read: No! Women don’t condone domestic violence

Good Samaritans found her abandoned without clothes at Kamiti Corner in Ruiru. She was taken to Kiambu hospital and later Kenyatta National Hospital, where she succumbed.

Her family alleged that the husband was upset after she opted to end their marriage and refused to get back together. Her murder case is still in court.

The two cases are just but a tip of the iceberg. Statistics from the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022 indicate that over 40 per cent of women have experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence.

The survey conducted by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics showed that 34 per cent of women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. Information was obtained from women aged 15–49 on their experience of violence committed by any perpetrator, including current and former spouses or other intimate partners.

The most common perpetrators of physical violence among women who have ever been married or have ever had an intimate partner, according to the report, are their husbands or intimate partners.

Some 54 per cent and 34 per cent of women who have ever been married or had intimate partners were subject to physical violence from current husbands and former husbands or intimate partners respectively.

Legal framework

To rein in the high cases of domestic violence, some of which lead to murders, Kenya has launched the Protection Against Domestic Violence Rules, designed to provide a robust legal framework that strengthens support and protection mechanisms available to survivors.

These rules emphasise prevention, intervention, and holistic support, reflecting a multi-sectoral approach that involves government agencies, civil society and communities.

They also establish clear guidelines for obtaining protection orders, ensuring survivors have access to swift and effective legal remedies. They further emphasise prevention and early intervention and underscore the importance of public awareness and community engagement.

During the launch of the rules in Nairobi towards the end of last month, Gender Cabinet Secretary Aisha Jumwa said the government had declared total war on gender-based violence (GBV), including on domestic violence.

Ms Jumwa noted the significance of prevention and early intervention, underlining the need and responsibility by legal duty bearers to handle survivors with compassion, while holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.

“The government has zero tolerance for GBV. I, therefore, want to declare total war on GBV and as a Cabinet Secretary, I want to assure you I will be at the forefront because I am a survivor of this but have healed and want society to be free from GBV," she said.

Ms Jumwa added that the government is working towards establishing a GBV survivor's fund through a co-financing model in partnership with private sector, civil society and other stakeholders for economic empowerment of GBV survivors.

She regretted GBV survivors have had trouble getting a P3 forms, because the form costs a significant amount of money. “Justice to survivors is at the police and it is very sad that today a survivor is required to pay between Sh1,000 and Sh3,000 to acquire a P3 form, and since acquiring it is the first step to getting justice, I request this service be rendered free of charge.”

The CS commended the Judiciary for raising the bar for GBV cases. “I wish to appreciate the accountability requirement for our courts to dispense swiftly and effectively cases of GBV. I commend our Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court, present with us today, for recently launching the first-ever special court for handling sexual violence cases at the Shanzu Law Courts in Mombasa.”

Fair trial

Ms Jumwa said the Judiciary's commitment to raising the bar on judicial accountability for GBV cases will help preserve the dignity of survivors and enhance fair trial. She called for teamwork, noting that implementing the rules effectively requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders–the government, development partners, civil society, community leaders, and every citizen.  

Veronicah Wachuka, the Chief of Staff in the Office of Chief Justice, regretted that about 68 per cent of GBV cases reach the police and the administrative elements of government, but only 10 per cent of them come to the Judiciary. She acknowledged that GBV is happening across genders and across the spectrum of identity.

To enhance the fight against the vice, she said the Judiciary is implementing a vision of social transformation through access to justice, or the use of the social transformation promise of the Constitution.

Chief Justice Martha Koome has so far established 11 SGBV courts to enhance the justice-seeking process. They are in Nairobi, Kisumu, Siaya, Meru, Nakuru, Machakos Mombasa, Kisii, Trans Nzoia, Kakamega and Kiambu.

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris stressed the need to offer comprehensive sex education to address teenage pregnancy. 

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