If you’ve seen a massive protest in Nairobi over the last 12 few months, chances are it has been about either #RejectFinanceBill or #StopKillingWomen. A worrying number of women – mothers, daughters, friends and wives – have lost their lives in increasingly gruesome killings. We’ve found, by way of new research, that over the course of 2024, the problem only seems to be getting worse – despite unprecedented media coverage and public discourse surrounding the matter. This is the data on how and where women were killed in Kenya in 2024, and what this information shows about the cases we identified.
Here’s what’s changed
2024 recorded the highest number of female murders: We compiled 170 cases within 2024 alone. This excludes the Kware cases, which included 18 cases confirmed by Mukuru Social Justice Centre, which Collins Jumaisi Khalusa later confessed to killing 42 women.
Violence is evolving, with perpetrators leaning into more accessible, intimate, and brutal methods. There’s been an increase in the number of cases that involve sexual assault prior to murder, by 7%. The same goes for hacking, with a 6% increase in prevalence. Perpetrators are also increasingly using bladed weapons,(often easy to access home cutlery) rather than methods like strangulation. In the midst of the “Mapangale” craze, there are a number of gruesome killings with several mutilations, fire burns and even someone being doused in acid.
By county, Nairobi is leading in femicide cases nationwide, whereas Kisii, Kitui, Meru and Nyeri are new entrants to the top ten counties with killings recorded. With expanded media coverage, we are able to have a better picture of where these killings take place. Killings may be concentrated around urban, more populous areas, but not exclusively so.
The high level of public outcry around femicide seems to have spurred the justice system to action; convictions have increased by 118% in 2024 from the previous year, the highest level it has been since 2018. Even pleading guilty does not exempt perpetrators from severe sentences; the average sentence was 20 years up until 2023. The number has increased to 23 years in 2024.
“In light of the high levels of violence and serious crimes against the women of Kenya the focus of this court in sentencing the convict would be more inclined to impose a severe custodial sentence notwithstanding the advantage of a plea of guilty entered by the convict.” – quoted from judgement on the murder case against Eliud Kipchoge Tum for the murder of Sheila Jepkemboi, 2024
However, a lot has stayed the same
Getting married gets women killed. Husbands still lead as perpetrators, and there’s an almost 75% percent chance that a woman will be killed by someone that she knows; a family member, friend or intimate partner.
Most femicides still take place at home. There are more cases of victims being killed in public lodging spaces (commonly referred to as AirBnbs), in line with victims being killed by intimate partners. A worrying trend is the packing of victims into sacks and dumping them along roads or in secluded thickets, which could be an attempt by the perpetrators to try and escape justice.
Younger women remain the prime target. More than half the number of the women killed last year were aged 30 and below. This troubling trend continues to draw attention to societal protections and the factors that make young women disproportionately at risk.
Most women are still being killed by blunt force and hacking. Passionate, intimately close perpetrators will co-op common household items into weapons, using them to bash or cut up victims.
Delays in serving justice persist. Verdicts that were handed out in 2024 took on average 4.01 years from first court appearance to verdict. This is a significant increase from the average spanning 2016-2023 which was 3.6 years.

So what can be done? Where do we see the opportunities for change?
Rally around support for the younger man. For the most part, the perpetrators of femicide remain concentrated around men aged 18-35. Tackling femicide will require getting to the heart of the problem – figuring out how to stop women from being killed. Support for the younger man looks like creating opportunities for young men to engage in meaningful work, fostering positive male role models, and promoting education around gender equality and conflict resolution. Community programs that provide mentorship, mental health support, and safe spaces for emotional expression can be pivotal in shifting toxic narratives around masculinity.
Perpetrators’ age
Below 18 | 18-35 | 36-50 | 50+ | |
2016 to 2024 | 3% | 66% | 14% | 17% |
It’s not just about young men—it’s about a deep-rooted cultural issue, a misogyny that transcends generations; a witchhunt in the literal sense of the word, with women still being targeted on suspicion of practicing witchcraft. For example, a woman was killed in 2024 on the suspicion that she was a witch. While challenges like fatherlessness and unemployment may exacerbate violent tendencies in younger men, the problem is far bigger, woven into the fabric of our society. Addressing it means confronting the norms, attitudes, and systems that enable misogyny to persist—across all ages.
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