Ministry urges administrators to curb cases of GBV

MERCY OSONGO -KNA 

The National Gov ernment Admin istration Officers have been urged to lead the fight against gen der-based violence in the country.

Principal Secretary State Department for Gender and Affirmative Action Ms Anne Wang’ombe who was speaking during a courtesy call to the Kisii County Commissioner’s office noted that admin istrators handle cases of domestic violence at the community level and can identify the root causes of such vices.

“Our administrators, especially those engaged in Nyumba Kumi com munity policing, know where we have rampant cases of GBV and they can pass this information to the higher authorities for policy formulation and action,” she said.

The PS pointed out that any form of violence against women and girls is not only a violation of human rights, but also negatively impacts them in society.

Wang’ombe decried the increasing cases of GBV within Kisii County, say ing that some of the cases arise from retrogressive cultural practices.

According to the PS, Kisii remains a hotspot of female genital mutilation (FGM), noting that such vices lead to lifelong negative impacts among the girls.

As a result, she encouraged the community members to shun such retrogressive practices that continue to cause a lot of harm to women and girls. Moreover, Wang’ombe called for continuous collaboration among the relevant government agencies and development partners to tackle GBV-related matters. 

Additionally, she pointed out the critical role that the clergy plays in addressing matters within the family unit, saying church leaders should be engaged in re solving domestic disputes.

“Let us encourage peaceful co-existence among family units be cause GBV also exists among men and occurs through physical violence and emotional abuse by women,” she added.

To address the significant increase in femicide cases in the country, Wang’ombe urged com munity members to take part in the upcoming public participation that seeks to address femicide and other forms of GBV.

In January 2025, Pres ident Ruto appointed a 42-member taskforce to address the alarming rise in femicide cases in the country.

The team, led by for mer Chief Justice Nancy Baraza, has begun public participation forums to collect views on matters of GBV including femicide, and is expected to recommend measures to strengthen the institutional, legal, and policy responses to the vices.

On his part, Kisii Central Deputy County Com missioner Joseph Mwangi noted that gender-based violence greatly contrib utes to suicide cases in the region.

Mr. Mwangi encour aged the community members to seek help from the local leaders or peers whenever they were facing any challenges within their families.

In addition, the DCC said the sale of parcels of land without proper documentation also contributes to cases of violence in the region.

“Let us encourage our family members to embrace land succession so that when they buy a piece of land, we can confirm that the purchase followed the right procedures to avoid conflicts among families,” he said.