Hannah Wendot Cheptumo, the nominee for Cabinet Secretary, Gender, Culture, Arts and Heritage, has said the rise in femicide cases is contributed by women pursuing relationships motivated by a desire for money.

Appearing before the Committee on Appointments on the vetting of Cabinet Secretaries’ nominees on Monday, Wendot attributed the women killings to a lack of financial empowerment and education.

“If a woman is educated, chances are they will avoid these challenges in society today,” said Wendot.

The committee, chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, however, challenged her that records of girls killed in the recent days show that they are educated.

She responded, “They are educated, but those are looking for money.”

Wendot further defended her argument, implying that girls only need financial freedom to reduce femicide cases.

“I see a lot of it is because of dependency. If girls were able to have economic power, they would not depend on the other gender. Sometimes they are in situations where they are exposed because they are trying to get an alternative source of income,” she added.

 Wendot further proposed the integration of gender-based violence education into the school curriculum to enable learners to get more on respect, equality, and prevention from an early age.

If her appointment is approved, she vows to collaborate with different stakeholders to address the rising gender-based violence issues.

“To effectively address gender-based violence, we will engage community leaders through churches, barazas, and county forums to encourage grassroots-driven solutions. Religious leaders in both mosques and churches will play a critical role in helping combat these harmful practices,” she added.

She also proposed the upscaling of boys’ mentorship to collectively end femicide and other forms of gender attacks in society.

The CS nominee is the widow of the late Baringo Senator William Cheptumo, who died in February this year.

She is a lawyer and describes herself as an advocate for women’s rights, legal empowerment, and social justice.

She seeks to fill in the docket, which has remained vacant since August 2024 following a cabinet reshuffle  by the president.