Public Service and Gender Chief Administrative Secretary ( CAS) Racheal Shebesh has urged the government to sack chiefs who collude with perpetrators of Gender Based Violence ( GBV) to deny victims justice and perpetuate the vice.

The CAS said some chiefs negotiated with culprits to settle the matter outside court and appealed to the county Commissioners to take action against them, stressing cases of rape and defilement are not negotiable.

Speaking after she inspected Kisii County Gender Based Violence Rescue Centre constructed by the national government through national government Affirmative Action Fund, (NGAAF) she said cases of GBV increased after the outbreak of Covid 19 and urged residents to shun the violence.

“We cannot be in the forefront fighting rape, defilement and gender based violence and prtect the victims when some administrators are perpetuating it,” Shebesh said.

The CAS, accompanied by Governor James Ongwae, County Woman Representative, Janet Ong’era, her vihiga counterpart, Beatrice Adagala, NGAAF Chief Executive Officer, Titus Lotee, Kisii County Commissioner, Allan Macharia’s representative, Joshua Muthoka and Kisii county Deputy majority leader, Lisper Kemunto urged government officers to ensure that perpetrators of GBV are arrested and prosecuted.

She implored members of the Kisii County assembly to pass legislation to enable the county government allocate funds every year to help run the Rescue centre, which, she said will be commissioned in August this year.

Ongwae deplored increasing cases of rape and defilement in the county, adding it was sad there are no convictions despite the cases dragging in court.

“We must have a deterrent system for the defilement and rape cases to come to an end. The county is working closely with stakeholders to fight the vice,” Ongwae said.

Ong’era said the county has 23 per cent cases of gender of gender based violence against the country’s prevalence, stressing victims will be guided and counseled at the Centre to settle.

She lauded President Uhuru Kenyatta for taking GBV seriously and directing the construction of rescue centres across the country to help victims.

“Rape, defilement and verbal abuse account for 60 percent. We have to concert effort to end the vices once and for all,” Ong’era said.

Lotee said the government was spending a lot of money funding construction of the centres to support victims of GBV, which, he noted, could be avoided and funds be used to build technical institutions to benefit students.

He appealed to the residents to respect women, girls and young men and shun violating their rights, stressing statistics from the county on GBV and female genital Mutilation were worrying and should be reversed.

Muthoka urged members of the public to report cases of GBV to police officers and chiefs for action to be taken against culprits.