Kenyan police tear-gassed a peaceful march against femicide in the capital Nairobi on Tuesday, detaining a number of protesters, according to AFP reporters and rights groups.

There was a strong police presence in Nairobi ahead of the march — just one of many planned across the East African country, where violence against women has been a long-running issue.

Officers fired tear gas against an initially small group of young women in Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD), AFP journalists saw.

The area saw some of the worst police violence during anti-government demonstrations earlier this year.

Heavily equipped officers — both uniformed and plain-clothed — also made multiple arrests in the CBD, according to rights groups. AFP witnessed at least one young woman being bundled screaming into the back of a police vehicle.

"The government is part of the problem," said protester Koneli, 38, who declined to give her second name.

"There is no reason why you should send armed police against people with placards," she told AFP.

The rally gathered pace in the afternoon as several hundred women marched to parliament, booing and chanting: "Shame on you!" and "teach your sons".

The march was repeatedly dispersed by tear gas, with one 22-year-old woman also telling AFP that officers appeared to be targeting women wearing t-shirts with anti-femicide slogans for arrest.

"How am I going to trust my government to end this if we have barely just got here and we are being tear-gassed already?" said demonstrator Zeitan, 38.

"We are not violent... we are here to fight for women's rights," protester Akinyi told AFP, shortly before she was tear-gassed.

The march follows calls from rights bodies for action over femicide in the country, with the Kenyan National Commission for Human Rights (KNCHR) saying in November that 97 women had been murdered in the past three months.

President William Ruto addressed parliament on the reports, labelling gender-based violence "tragic and unacceptable" and urging society to address the issue.

Amnesty International and the Law Society of Kenya released a joint statement condemning the police actions on Tuesday, saying it sent a "chilling message" to peaceful protesters.

"The violent response by police, including the arrest of these peaceful protesters, is a direct attack on Kenya's democratic principles and the human rights of its citizens," it said.

Kenyan police have previously come under international scrutiny over their tough approach to demonstrations.

Peaceful anti-government rallies earlier this year spiralled into violence, leaving at least 60 dead, according to rights groups.

AFP

armed police

Kenyan police tear-gas peaceful anti-femicide march