This archive report was first published on 29 December 2019.
Femicide: Eight Women Killed Every Month in 2019 ¶
According to data collated from various sources, including media mentions and police records, at least 100 women were reported murdered in Kenya in 2019.
On average, eight women violently lost their lives every month, with some being murdered by their spouses, lovers, bosses, or criminals.
February proved to be the most dangerous month for Kenyan women, with at least 17 killings reported.
One of the most notable cases was that of Caroline Mwatha, a human rights activist in Dandora whose body was found in City Mortuary on February 12.
She had been missing for close to a week.
January and March tied as the third most dangerous month for women, with nine murders recorded.
May, September, and November tied for fourth, with eight murders recorded.
Records by lobby group Counting Dead Women in Kenya show that in nine percent of these deaths, the victims were either stabbed, hacked to death, or dismembered.
Twenty percent of them were strangled, while 14 percent were bludgeoned to death with a blunt object.
Seven percent of them were fatally shot, and 14 percent were also raped.
Nairobi was the most dangerous place for a woman, with 13 of the 94 killings happening in the capital city.
One of the most recent acts of violence happened in Nairobi's Kasarani area when a 24-year-old Kisii University student was raped and stabbed to death in her apartment.
Witnesses told the police that on the night of her death on November 8, the university student started screaming for help at around 11:35 pm.
Her badly mutilated body was discovered two days later by her boyfriend.
A post-mortem revealed that the student was raped, strangled, stabbed, and tortured.
Forty-seven of the 94 killings were committed by people known to the victims, who included relatives, friends, husbands, or lovers.
