In an interview with Kiss FM on Tuesday, nominated Member of Parliament (MP) Sabina Chege offered her perspective on the current discussion surrounding femicide, stating that runway cases can be lessened if women realize that life doesn't start at the top.

Speaking against a backdrop of multiple killings aimed at women, Chege asserted that the scourge can be eradicated with the proper guidance and mentoring.

She also raised concerns about the recent march, in which thousands of Kenyans, primarily women, protested and demanded action in response to several horrifying killings.

She claimed that although the demonstration was a positive move, the march's main focus was on woke participants, and while it garnered media attention, only a little was accomplished.


"They could have gone to colleges, or universities and called all these girls and created awareness," she said. 

"Once you go to the street, yes, you do it for the media and everything else, but you don't really communicate much... the best way is to start this mentorship program where you can talk to these girls."

Girls need to realize that "life does not begin at the top," according to Sabina, whose viewpoint on femicide angered Kenyans online who accused her of placing blame on the victims.

"There is no free money in this world. Nothing comes for free; the only thing that is free is air, and it is given by God."

Sabina advised school-age girls to finish their education and to set reasonable expectations for receiving money from men.

"Wake up, work hard; if you are in school, complete your school, look for a job, and don't expect that men will be giving you money; it will not happen," she added.

Her sentiments drew the ire of Kenyans online, who mocked her for what they termed as "a lack of depth to discuss the matter."


"Data informs decisions 80% of these killings have happened in homes. So who are we counseling and mentoring?" an X user, Wangari, posed. 

According to Kusajishi, another X user, Ms. Chege's reasoning made absolutely no sense as married women, as well as divorcees, had also been victims of femicide. 

"So married women and divorcées being murdered by their spouses wanted to start from the top?" Kusajishi asked. 

There is a complete lack of nuance. Tom Oyier posted on Twitter, "What's Sabina talking about? A woman in a "stable" marriage who was supporting a man got killed, a girl walking home got killed, and the list of women killed when they didn't take anything from anybody is endless."


Over the past two months, several murders in Kenya have brought attention to a troubling trend of gender-based violence.

In one, a 20-year-old university student named Rita Waeni was killed and her limbs severed in Nairobi's Roysambu neighborhood.

Startlet Wahu, a fellow Kenyan woman, was fatally stabbed and robbed by a man she had reserved an Airbnb with one week before she passed away.

Several Femicides Kenya, which keeps track of murders mentioned in local media, identified 58 deaths between January and October 2022 that it classified as femicide.

According to the organization, at least 152 killings were reported in 2023, the most in the previous five years.