The government is concerned about horrifying violence against women and children in the country, Interior CS Fred Matiang'i has said.
“Time has come for us to have a conversation on what we need to do in this matter. It is not normal. We can’t live this way where we are butchering our wives and murdering children,” Matiang’i said.
The CS spoke when he officiated a Senior Women’s Conference on women in leadership at the Kenya Prisons Service Staff Training College in Ruiru on Thursday.
He said that there was nothing cultural about murdering women and children, adding that it was a phenomenon that had to be dealt with.
“We cannot go on this way. We need to look for solutions. We need to have a national conversation on this matter,” Matiang’i said.
The CS said that the high levels of violence as witnessed across the country were unacceptable.
Matiang’i said it was shameful that some of the security officers in the police, military, among other disciplined forces were involved in such violence.
He said he would soon convene a meeting with relevant agencies to instigate a national conversation on the vice.
The CS said that Kenyans should not pretend by keeping quiet about domestic violence because it was not normal.
Matiang’i said statistics had shown there were no child-friendly police stations where they could report whenever they were offended.
“We will work with the Inspector General of Police, other relevant ministries and institutions to ensure that our police stations are child-friendly,” Matiang’i said.
Matiang’i called on faith-based organizations to join the national conversation on domestic violence.
“What kind of men are we raising? How did we become such a country? This is a conversation that we cannot postpone to tomorrow,” he said.
