Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris was on Saturday, January 27, 2024 forced to cut short his speech with her security detail swinging into action to whisk her to safety after activists protesting rising cases of femicide in the country heckled her.
Trouble started when Passaris took to the makeshift podium at Jeevanjee Gardens to address the activists.
The group turned rowdy, shouting down the lawmaker who they accused of remaining silent as cases of femicide spiked in the country.
A section of the protesters urged her to go home, questioning where she has been all along, only to show up at the protests organized by activist.
Chants of "Where were you? Go home! Where were you!" could be heard from the protesters who refused to give the lawmaker a listening ear.
The Woman Representative’s security detail intervened with Passaris climbing down from the podium amid.
Despite the protests, Passaris joined the activists in their peaceful match and was presented with a petition and asked her to present the same in the National Assembly.
The peaceful demonstration marked a call to action against the brutal violence women in the country have been facing.
Kate Actress joins protests
On Friday, January 26, 2024, renowned actress Catherine Kamau, popularly known as Kate Actress, led a march to protest against femicide in Nyeri.
She emphasised the urgency and importance of addressing the issue in the backdrop of a surge in cases of femicide in the country.
Addressing the crowd and her social media followers, she stressed her role as a mother and a woman in society, advocating for the protection of women's rights and safety.
READ: Probe on Rita Waeni's head reveals cause of death before she was dismembered
“542 deaths since 2016 or there about, 245 of those were by husbands at home. So the argument about BnBs is not valid. If 245 have been murdered in their homes by their husbands, what are we saying?
"So it is not a moral issue, It's a human rights issue and women have a right to life. We are not begging. We are demanding and we are stating that you will stop killing women,” she said.
Surge in cases of femicide
Several cases of femicide have been reported with detectives investigating working round the clock to bring those responsible to face justice.
Among the murders under investigation is that of Rita Waeni who was murdered and her body dismembered in an apartment in Kasarani.
Police are also working round the clock to resolve the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu who was murdered in an apartment earlier in the year.