Women leaders, led by Council of Governors Chairperson Ann Waiguru, are calling for the revival of police gender desks staffed with trained officers to collect data and prevent femicide cases, following the arrest of the Kware serial killer.
They emphasized that these desks could have aided in detecting female homicide cases earlier.
Governor Waiguru, called for government collaboration to ensure swift prosecution of gender-related crime suspects and support for victims’ families.
“It is only through collective efforts that we can identify and bring those responsible for these heinous crimes to justice.As women leaders we call on the government and relevant authorities to provide support and counselling to the families of the victims who are mourning,” Waiguru stated.
The brutal killings have sparked outrage and fear, highlighting the escalating crisis of Gender-Based Violence in the country.
Echoing Waiguru’s sentiments Embu governor Cecily Mbarire promised to advocate for budgetary provisions in the supplemental budget to assist the gender desk program, which aims to reduce gender-related crimes and stop such horrors from occurring in the future.
“We are going to push so that as the supplementary budget comes back to the floor of the house we can make sure there is some money put aside for this kind of information and arrangements so that going forward we can deal with such femicides,” said Mbarire.
She emphasized the significance of setting up gender desks at police stations in order to reveal trends in instances involving femicides and missing persons.
The women leaders also asked Kenyans to stand in solidarity with the families and help them psychologically and financially.