The government is moving to tighten its response to rising cases of gender-based violence and femicide, with Deputy President Kithure Kindiki saying a set of reforms and interventions is now being pushed through different arms of government for urgent action.
Kindiki said the State is already rolling out key recommendations from the Presidential Technical Working Group on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, while other proposals are progressing through Cabinet approval and Parliament for legal backing. He noted that the focus is on speeding up both prevention and response measures as cases continue to raise concern nationally.
“I reaffirm the commitment of the government to make sure we roll back the worrying statistics of gender-based violence and femicide in our country,” DP stated.
He spoke on Thursday at Harambee House Annex in Nairobi during talks with Gender and Affirmative Action Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo and senior officials from the ministry, where they reviewed progress on implementation of the working group’s report.
Kindiki said President William Ruto has directed faster rollout of legal, policy and administrative actions aimed at curbing the vice, which he said is affecting families and national development. He added that government agencies have already begun implementing measures that do not require formal approvals.
“The government is concerned with the repeated cases and reports of the killing of women in brutal and horrendous circumstances. We take these cases seriously because they are harming our nation-building and the progress we are making in development,” he noted.
He further explained that remaining proposals are being processed through Cabinet and Parliament so that they can be anchored in law and government policy.
“We are taking the recommendations of the technical working group seriously. The implementation is on course on the issues that do not require Cabinet or Parliament approval,” he reaffirmed.
“There is a need for Cabinet approval for the proposed legislation or policy so we have a government-backed document to be submitted to Parliament. In the meantime, we are implementing measures that do not require legislation and policy,” DP stated.
Kindiki said the reforms will also support Kenya’s push to ratify the Africa-Union Convention on Ending Violence Against Women and Girls, adopted in February 2025 during the 38th Ordinary Session of African heads of state and government.
He stressed that efforts to improve national development must go hand in hand with safety for all citizens and urged collective responsibility in addressing violence in society.
“As much as we are pursuing national development goals of putting up better infrastructure for better education, roads, and health, we have a bigger role to put together a country that is safe for everyone: men, women, children and all members of the society.
He also said government is working on measures to respond to increasing cases of missing children across the country.
Also present were Gender and Affirmative Action Principal Secretary Anne Wang’ombe and senior ministry officials.
Security agencies have stepped up action on the issue. In May 2026, the National Police Service (NPS) announced enhanced measures targeting femicide and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), including a specialised unit within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) focused on prevention, investigation and prosecution support.
NPS data shows that eight regions have recorded cases of sexual and gender-based violence in 2025, with cases still being handled in 2026. The service says 125 femicide-related cases are currently active, with 98 already in court and 27 still under investigation.
Central Region leads with 31 cases, followed closely by Western with 30. Nairobi has 17, Rift Valley and Eastern 16 each, Coast 9, Nyanza 4, and North Eastern 2.