‘IRRESPONSIBLE STATEMENT’ FAITH ODHIAMBO CONDEMNS GENDER CS NOMINEE’S FEMICIDE COMMENTS 

Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo has criticised Gender Cabinet Secretary nominee Hannah Wendot Cheptumo’s controversial remarks before Parliament’s Appointments Committee, where the nominee said that the rising femicide cases are caused by women pursuing relationships for financial gain.

During Monday’s vetting session, Wendot stated that “If a woman is educated, chances are they will avoid these challenges in society today,” before adding that many victims “are educated but looking for money.” These comments came despite committee members presenting evidence of numerous educated women and students who have recently fallen victim to femicide.

Speaking in a radio interview, Odhiambo characterised the nominee’s remarks as “the most irresponsible statement I’ve ever heard from someone seeking to lead gender protections.” 

The prominent lawyer said there are cases where wives were murdered and dismembered by husbands, university students killed for rejecting advances, “It is the most irresponsible statement I’ve ever had, and unfortunately, from a female that you can see, the reason people are getting killed being made we have situations where husband have killed their wives and cut them into pieces. What money was she looking for?” 

The LSK president connected Wendot’s comments to systemic failures, noting how similar victim-blaming comments regularly surface in police gender desks when survivors attempt to report assaults. “That’s the kind of attitude we continue to see in our police in the gender desks, when people come to ask for help and you’re told the reason you were raped is because you went to look for money, or this was a relationship so now you’re coming to report.”

Odhiambo also turned her criticism toward Parliament, questioning how such remarks could pass unchallenged during the vetting process. “If you’re having at the helm of an institution of a ministry that should head and protect then I see the greater failure is not just on the executive, it’s also on our legislature because a lot of instances we see the Gen Z’s wanted to recall a lot of their members of parliament because of failure of oversight.”