Why Passaris was heckled at the 'End Femicide' march in Nairobi

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris was on Saturday heckled by a gathering that had convened for a march in protest of increased femicide cases.

Chanting ‘go back home’ and ‘where were you?’ the crowd at Jevanjee Gardens did not let Passaris utter a word when she was invited to make her address.

Undeterred, Passaris stayed on and took part in the protests with the rest of the group.

The march, convened by the civil society and human right activists, started from Jevanjee Gardens and proceeded through various streets in the CBD.

Addressing the media afterwards, Passaris said she was part of the team that planned the march.

“I know that there is a lot of anger but to take out that anger on a woman leader is wrong. It starts from the top. From the President, to the CSs, to the legislators, to the Judiciary, to the police," the woman rep said.

Passaris added that she was turned into a punching bag at the event because of her status as an elected leader.

“I am angry, I could not even speak. I have a daughter, I am a woman. I felt the pain of seeing a young girl butchered. That was not supposed to happen, but was it the Woman Rep who made that happen,” she posed.

The lawmaker hailed the police for moving with speed and arresting suspects of recent femicide cases.

“The judiciary should on their part handle the cases expeditiously and lock up the criminals,” she said.

“We have to deal with the causes of the violence. The causes cannot be cured by the woman representative alone but the entire society."

She said the police should be well-funded and trained to deal with gender-based violence.