By Bill Omondi
Over a year ago, 20-year-old university student Rita Waeni was found dismembered in a Nairobi apartment, her life brutally stolen. Just weeks earlier, 26-year-old influencer Starlet Wahu had been stabbed and mutilated in another rental. In both cases, the men last seen with them walked away. Alive. Free.
These women did not die quietly—and we must not let them be forgotten.
#SayTheirNames
Kenya is in the grip of a femicide crisis, and it is time we name it for what it is: an epidemic of gender-based violence fueled by impunity, silence, and institutional neglect.
In just the first five months of 2025, Kenya has recorded an alarming rise in femicide. Between January and March alone, at least 129 women were reported killed—though the true number is likely far higher. Counties like Busia, West Pokot, and Nandi are among the worst affected. These are not isolated crimes. They reflect a broader system that continues to fail women at every turn—failing to protect them, to believe them, or to bring their killers to justice.
In March, the body of a 15-year-old girl was discovered between metal sheets in Nairobi’s Landi Mawe area. She had been abducted, raped, and murdered. Months later, no arrests have been made. Her story, like so many others, has faded into silence.
Rita Waeni’s murder drew headlines and outrage. She had reportedly entered a short-term rental with a man later seen leaving alone. Her family received ransom messages—likely sent after her death. Yet, more than a year later, the prime suspect remains at large.
Just days earlier, Starlet Wahu was murdered under eerily similar circumstances. CCTV footage showed her entering an apartment with a man who emerged the next morning with bloodstained clothes. The suspect, reportedly a repeat offender, was arrested. His trial is ongoing.
These stories are heartbreaking—but they are not anomalies. They represent a terrifying pattern, one that mirrors a global crisis. From Kenya to Mexico, from South Africa to the United States, femicide continues to be a leading cause of premature death for women and girls. The World Health Organization has called gender-based violence a public health emergency. Yet responses remain piecemeal, reactive, and riddled with gaps.
Femicide does not happen in a vacuum. It thrives in environments where women are devalued, where cries for help are dismissed, and where perpetrators walk free. The murders of Rita, Starlet, and countless others are not tragic exceptions. They are the predictable outcomes of systems that refuse to center women’s safety and dignity.
We cannot bring back those whose lives have been taken. But we can refuse to let them be erased twice—first by violence, then by silence.
Justice must go beyond arrests sparked by public outrage. True justice means prevention. It means investing in systems that protect women, amplify their voices, and end cycles of violence before they turn fatal.
If you’re reading this, you are part of the solution. Raise your voice. Demand accountability. Stand with survivors. Say their names.
Because no woman should live in fear of becoming just another statistic.
#EndFemicide #EndFemicideKe
Bill Omondi serves as the Communications Coordinator at NWI.