The death of a mother of five in Kiamaiko has become the latest focus of a wider demand for action against gender-based violence, as women, human rights defenders, and residents in Mathare call for investigations into violence against women to move beyond individual cases and address the conditions that allow such attacks to continue.
Residents of Kiamaiko and Mathare took to the streets on Thursday in a solidarity march organized by Usikimye, Women Collective, and Shine a Light, with the protesters walking from Huruma Police Station through Kiamaiko while demanding justice for victims of sexual violence and femicide.
At the center of the protest was Esther Wanjiru Muthoni, popularly known as Shii or Shakata, a mother of five who died on September 17, a day after she was allegedly sexually assaulted by seven men near KYG in Kiamaiko.
According to organizers, community health promoters took Shii to Médecins Sans Frontières for first aid before she was referred to Nairobi Women’s Hospital because of the severity of her injuries. She died while being taken for surgery.
Her death has since raised questions among residents and activists about the protection available to women facing violence, the response after an attack, and whether victims are able to access timely medical and justice services before their injuries become fatal.
The march was therefore not only about Shii. Protesters used her death to draw attention to a series of cases involving women whose deaths have raised concerns over gender-based violence in Nairobi.
Among the cases cited was that of 21-year-old Fransisca Wanja Thuranira, who was found dead in an apartment in Umoja Two. Police opened investigations into her death and began searching for her boyfriend after preliminary investigations indicated that she had suffered multiple stab wounds.
Another case involved Sergeant Gladys Nyaguthe Kirika, a 46-year-old police officer whose body was found in a thicket in Kagira, Kabete. Her family has been seeking answers as investigations continue, with police linking her husband to the case.
In Ruai, the death of Elizabeth Wanjiru Wangare also prompted investigations after she was found dead inside a friend’s house, with neighbors reportedly saying they heard a fight during the night.
The cases differ in circumstances, but activists say they point to the need for responses that begin before violence results in death.
For the women who marched through Kiamaiko, that means access to medical care after sexual violence, effective investigations, protection for women facing threats, and accountability for perpetrators.
It also means addressing the circumstances that leave survivors and families struggling to obtain justice after violence has occurred.
Shii’s five children are now without their mother, turning the consequences of the alleged attack into a family issue that will continue long after the protest has ended.
The organizers are also appealing for support for the family as they prepare to give Shii a dignified send-off.
Two days after the march, the central question remains whether the anger generated by Shii’s death will translate into action beyond the streets of Kiamaiko.
For residents and activists, justice for Shii is not only about establishing responsibility for her death. It is also about whether women in Kiamaiko can live, seek help, and report violence without the response coming only after a life has been lost.