You look at the news today and the news making headlines is saddening, all sorts of killings from people close with most societies considering murder as an extremely serious crime. In most cases, a person convicted of murder receives harsh punishments for the purpose of incapacitation. Allow me to cite three latest stories that are very disturbing in Kenya.
On Monday, August 2022, there was shock and confusion as the story of a 34-year-old man succumbed to burns after setting a car he was riding on Sunday with his daughter and wife police citing that the man was in a heated disagreement with his estranged wife Elizabeth before the incident happened. On Sun, 28 Aug, the whole country shook after a 15-year-old confessed to killing 3 siblings between February and July 2021and a cousin last month. Tuesday, August 30, 2022, a 70-year old man left his village in disbelief after reportedly stabbing his 27-year-old friend to death. He allegedly attacked his friend after a disagreement during a drinking spree. Scary right? Some term it as being psycho, some say it is the work of the devil and some say it is the end of time, how do term these heinous acts?
More than 400,000 people die from homicide each year with some countries having a rate less than 1% whereas some countries have a higher rate of 10%. According to a recent statistics presented by South Africa’s police minister, South Africa’s murder rate increased by 11.5% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with the same period last year, while attempted murder rose by 8.4%. Number of homicides in Kenya shot up by 17.96% from 1,576 in 2019 to 1,859 in 2020 and since the 1.91% decline in 2015, the number of homicides dropped down by 17.78% in 2020. So how do we reduce homicide cases because I want to believe it is not something that we can eradicate in night right?
In July 2021, the Council on Criminal Justice launched a violent crime working group in response to this crisis and the group is composed of a diverse range of leaders dedicated to saving lives by producing anti-violence guidance that is timely, relevant, and reliable. In Kenya, Centre for human rights and policy studies increased efforts to tackle cases of killings, insecurity in the North Rift region by deploying additional security agents and increased resources allocated to the security agencies.
What is happening in the world is sad, a crisis that leaves us with more questions than answers, do you think we will ever end such cases? Do you believe we can store our nation? Will we ever embrace a murder free nation? It might take a while, but I strongly believe we can.
What are you doing to make the world a better place for each and every one of us?
