A recent report handed to President William Ruto has drawn a direct line between short-stay rentals, commercial lodgings, and Kenya’s worsening gender-based violence crisis, and now calls for mandatory CCTV cameras to help tackle the problem.
The report shows that 1,639 women lost their lives between 2022 and 2024, with 77 per cent killed by intimate partners or people they knew. Women between 30 and 44 were hit hardest, and Nairobi, Nakuru, and Meru counties saw the highest numbers. But officials say the real toll is probably much worse, since so many cases never get reported.
The Technical Working Group (TWG) discovered that some short-stay rentals and commercial places to stay, especially in cities, have turned into sites where GBV happens, largely because regulations are weak and there’s little security watching over things. To fix this, the report says all short-stay rentals, lodgings, and commercial accommodations must have security cameras, including CCTV, installed by September 31, 2026.
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife will team up with the Ministry of Interior and National Administration to make this happen. It’s the first time Kenya has officially put the hospitality industry at the heart of its plan to prevent GBV.
Former Deputy Chief Justice Dr. Nancy Baraza led the TWG, which found that systemic problems are fueling the crisis. Femicide isn’t even recognized as its own crime under the law. Court processes drag on and often retraumatize victims. Families and community elders regularly shut down cases. Scattered data makes it hard to respond effectively. And while social media has helped spread awareness, it’s also created space for victim-blaming and false information to spread.
The report paints a bleak picture of what’s happening nationwide: 34 per cent of Kenyan women have faced…
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Read Full Article by Richard Kamau at nairobiwire.com
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