Maralal: Wife battering is a cultural norm among the Samburu community as a majority of women in the county face Gender-based Violence (GBV) which goes unreported since it has been normalized. Speaking during a public participation for the Technical Working Group (TWG) on GBV and femicide at the Maralal vocational center, Frank Leseketeti from Ngopiro Foundation, a Civil Society Organization, noted that Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is normalized in Samburu County because of negative cultural practices such as FGM, child marriage, and beading.
According to Kenya News Agency, the participants pointed out the need for a vigorous sensitization exercise on what constitutes GBV because when women and girls are violated, they consider it a normal cultural practice. They further noted that illiteracy played a big contributing role in GBV prevalence in the county, emphasizing the necessity to constantly sensitize the Samburu community that wife battering is illegal.
‘Constant sensitization will empower women to come forward whenever they are violated and it will be a step towards eliminating GBV in our society,’ a resident of Maralal, Dominic Lesimale, said. Lesimale proposed that the gender desk in all police stations should be made a one-stop-shop referral pathway to expedite the reporting and prosecution of GBV cases.
Senior Principal Magistrate, Allan Sitati, on behalf of the Maralal law courts, stated that Section 175 of the criminal procedure code needs amending to provide a specific trial procedure whenever magistrates want to order compensation in GBV cases. Sitati urged the TWG to petition the president to move through a cabinet paper and amend section 175, section 23, 24, 25, and 26 of the victim procedure act to provide a clear procedure for courts to apply when making orders of compensation to victims of GBV.
A Samburu moran, Peter Lesangalaim, confirmed that acts of GBV occurred frequently during night dances where morans would sexually exploit girls and women without their consent. ‘It is allowed in the Samburu culture for a moran to have their way with girls but with the increase in Sexually Transmitted Infections such activities have declined,’ Lesangalaim said.
The CEO of the National Youth Council and the team leader of the TWG on GBV and femicide, Gloria Wawira, stated that in January 2025, President Dr. William Ruto appointed the TWG on GBV and femicide to identify trends, hotspots, and causes contributing to GBV and femicide in the country. Wawira said the group was tasked with developing comprehensive people-centered recommendations on how to prevent gender violence and strengthen the justice system for survivors.
She noted that the issues raised by Samburu residents will be incorporated into the TWG report on GBV and femicide to be presented to the president. The participants in the public participation were drawn from the national government, county government, civil society organizations, religious organizations, elders, people living with disabilities, duty bearers, GBV survivors, the police, among others.