NAIROBI: Several hundred people marched in Nairobi on Saturday to protest against femicide in Kenya where over a dozen women have been killed this month in cases that shocked the nation.

The campaigners took to the streets of the capital holding placards that read `Being a woman should not be a death sentence`, `Patriarchy kills` while others featured names and photographs of the victims.

`Stop killing us,` they chanted as they marched towards parliament, bringing traffic to a halt in Nairobi`s central business district. At least 16 women have been killed in Kenya this year, according to media reports, shining a spotlight on violence against women which the government has described as `rising` In one of the cases that gained nation-wide attention, a 26-year-old woman was killed on Jan 4 at a short-term rental apartment by a suspect who police say is part of an extortionist gang which targets women through dating sites. Barely a fortnight later, a 20-year-old woman was strangled, dismembered and her remains stuffed into a plastic bag.

The gruesome killing triggered nationwide shock, including the chief government pathologist Johansen Oduor who said he had `never come across` such an incident over a two-decade forensic career. Two men are in police custody over the case but are yet to be charged.

`Femicide is the most brutal manifestation of gender-based violence,` Amnesty International`s Kenya chapter said in a statement ahead of the march.-AFP