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By Tony Wafula
Bungoma County, Kenya: The government has directly blamed bullying, incitement, and harassment on digital platforms for the alarming rise in femicide cases across Kenya, announcing a strengthened legal framework to combat technology-facilitated violence.
Speaking on Tuesday at the opening of the 2nd National Conference on Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence (TFGBV) at Kibabii University in Bungoma, Youth Affairs, Creative Economy, and Sports Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya declared that the majority of recent femicides are fueled by violence that starts or escalates online.
“The choice of Universities and Tertiary Institutions for this forum is very critical because we have seen many cases of femicide in our institutions. TFGBV has been a key contributor to this,” CS Mvurya stated.
He defined TFGBV as acts of gender-based violence “committed, assisted, aggravated and amplified” by digital media, including cyberbullying and coordinated online attacks. The government’s response, he noted, includes the recent amendment of the Computer and Cybercrimes Act to introduce stricter penalties and better protections for victims.
“The reason we are engaging universities is that they have a huge role to play in ending this by ensuring sensitization continues,” Mvurya explained. He also issued a sharp warning to politicians against “fronting youths in accusing their opponents on digital spaces,” a practice he implied contributes to a toxic and violent online culture.
The CS’s grim assessment is backed by stark national data. According to the 2023 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey, over 11 million women have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner. A report by the Africa Data Hub details 930 cases of female murders in Kenya from 2016 to 2024, with intimate partners or family members responsible 77% of the time.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) supported the conference’s focus, stating that gender-based violence and femicide are “eating away at the fabric of our society.” The commission praised presidential efforts to address the crisis, which has seen continued violence in 2025, including the recent murder of a 17-year-old refugee girl.
Also present was Harriet Chiggai, the Presidential Advisor on Women’s Rights, who urged Kenyans to vocally oppose TFGBV.
Concluding the opening, CS Mvurya called for prudence online: “I want to encourage all Kenyans… to use the digital space as an enabler, not as a tool to promote crime.” The conference continues with students and stakeholders from universities and tertiary institutions nationwide.
