The Kenyan landlords helping fight gender-based violence

In Kenya, charities are working with landlords to fight gender-based violence – in particular the domestic violence experienced by women living in overcrowded, impoverished areas.

In Kibera, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the NGO CFK Africa has begun helping landlords to spot and respond to domestic violence and sexual assault.  

Siama Yusuf, senior programme officer for girls empowerment at CFK Africa, told RFI: "Kibera faces a persistent high level of gender-based violence, teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse."

And this reflects broader national trends, she adds, with the situation intensified by poverty and overcrowding in informal settlements such as Kibera.

"Violence often happens behind closed doors and goes unreported due to stigma, fear of retaliation, lack of trust in institutions and the belief that such issues are private family matters," she explained. 

Little by little, however, thanks to the way the charity is supporting landlords, some parts of Kenya are becoming safer places for women, as awareness on how to address the violence grows.

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In 2025, landlords working with the charity made 92 referrals to the authorities, helping survivors of violence with life-saving support services.

While landlords might once have dismissed signs of domestic violence in the homes of their tenants as a private matter, CFK Africa's training teaches them how to intervene. 

One owner said that after this training, he knew that he was entitled to go and investigate upon hearing cries from inside one of his properties – where he found a father sexually assaulting his four-year-old daughter. Thanks to the landlord’s intervention, she survived.

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Geoffrey Wesonga is a landlord in Kibera who is involved in the training.

"When I first heard of the programme, I was really happy because handling gender-based violence cases in Kibera was becoming something very hard to do, because we didn't have anywhere to report them," he told RFI.

"The police tend to tell the perpetrator who reported the matter to them," Wesonga continues. "So, when I heard of the programme CFK was rolling out, I felt that in my capacity as a landlord, I would help many households."

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CFK Africa says its programme could be replicated around the globe. It quotes the work of researcher Meg Warren from Western Washington University in the United States, who conducted a study in 2024 with academics in the Democratic Republic of Congo that suggested the most powerful allies often aren't outsiders, but local leaders.

It also showed male allyship was key to lasting changes.

"In the past, most landlords didn't know the power they hold in preventing and reporting cases of gender-based violence," said Yusuf.

"But, because the landlords usually live within or near the compounds they oversee, they frequently hear or see warning signs before anyone else, so positioning them as critical gatekeepers in prevention and response is crucial."

Spotlight on Africa is produced by RFI's English language service. Episode mixed by Erwan Rome.