Woman develops 'Mulika' app to help GBV victims report cases through SMS

Five years ago, Grace Wanjohi noticed that her neighbour in an estate in Nakuru town, was experiencing domestic violence.

Whenever the husband came home in the evening, Ms Wanjohi says, they would hear kicks and blows with the woman crying for help.

“That problem persisted, almost daily, for long, but the woman would not have the guts to report. It was terrible,” she says during the interview.

Touched by this, Ms Wanjohi developed ‘c’, a digital App that enables victims of domestic violence report their cases through an SMS-enabled text.

Since then, the digital online platform has been used to report gender-based violence (GBV) cases and other cases in Nakuru County.

Ms Wanjohi says when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, she developed ‘Mulika 988’, an extension of the ‘Mulika Uhalifu’.

“Mulika 988, innovated and domiciled in Nakuru County, has played a pivotal role in identifying and tracing people suspected to have been exposed to the virus for quarantine,” she says.

National security

The App facilitates citizen participation in national security through SMS 988, the Mulika mobile app, and the online portal with SMS being the most popular.

The 47-year old, who was born in Nyeri but relocated to Nakuru at age five, is a former employee in a telecommunication firm. She says her platform has been widely used by the public to report people who travelled from outside the country and were not adhering to quarantine guidelines, or people who would have come into contact with them.

“Reports are also coming in on mental health, gender-based violence and special needs, ensuring interventions from government agencies,” she says.

Her platform is among the main digital platform the Ministry of Interior is using to ensure compliance with the guidelines of Covid-19 safety issued by the National Emergency Response Committee through the Ministry of Health.

“Through the Mulika online portal, mobile APP and the SMS number 988, which has been declared a national emergency number, the public is enabled to report cases of insecurity as well as emergency cases during curfew hours,” she says.

Commendable job

She notes that the public uses the same platform to report police officers who behave unlawfully during the enforcement of curfew. It also receives compliments from the public on officers doing a commendable job.

“Actually this platform acts as a 'virtual' police station and is toll free, anonymous and accessible to anyone with a mobile phone.  Once a report is sent to the platform, it is automatically transmitted in its raw and un-edited format to more than 100 security chiefs,” she says.

The system is configured to transmit county specific reports to the authorised officers who receive alerts for their area of jurisdiction only. One alert from a member of the public is received by more than 100 officers in charge including the PS Interior.

“Follow up tracking from acknowledgment of officer assigned to closure is done by county security intelligence committees. All reports are compiled daily, and sent to a command centre at the Ministry of Interior headquarters. This ensures no report from the public is ignored.”

The App has been well received by security officers too.

“During this time of Covid-19 pandemic, this platform is being used by community health workers and community-based organisations as a value added service in their programs. They report some cases on behalf of the community and follow-up with me,” she says.

She notes that the platform is not a commercial project and they are supported by development partners like DFID and USAID.

Ms Wanjohi says the community is yet to fully embrace the App, but attributes this to low information about how it works.

“Now the community has slowly discovered they can text any complaints through the App, and they will be notified on the progress. It has helped many people report cases of gender and other social problems, and they have been assisted,” she says.

24-hour system

Currently, Ms Wanjohi works with a team of ten, among them developers of the platforms.

“I have a team of developers who develop and insert new features to the app and people who monitor the messages received on the App. Remember it’s a 24-hour system and has to update all the time,” she says.

Nakuru County Commissioner Erastus Mbui, says the App has been successful in getting reports about the happenings in the community.

“The assistance has been good because first, it’s free a free App. All those using it can report their issues from where they are through the SMS, with the sender remaining anonymous,” says Mr Mbui.

He further says they receive information through the App and all the concerned authorities monitor the issues raised and act upon them.

 “Those following up through the App have benefited because the information shared has to be acted on and if there is delay, the concerned person is taken to task,” he says.