- The organisation in partnership with the government is engaged in a support programme targeting Kwale, Kajiado, Mombasa and Bungoma counties.
- Drought in Kajiado has forced some children to drop out of school to tend the parents' livestock.
Image: GEORGE MURAGE
The International Labor Organization has called for concerted efforts to stem the rising cases of human trafficking and child laboor in the country.
The organisation attributed the problem to outdated traditional practices and poverty that pushing victims to extremes to survive.
ILO programme manager Grace Banya said despite the government putting in place several laws and policies, cases of child labour and exploitation continued to be reported.
The organisation in partnership with the government is engaged in a support programme targeting Kwale, Kajiado, Mombasa and Bungoma counties.
Drought in Kajiado has forced some children to drop out of school to tend the parents' livestock.
“Cases of sexual exploitation mainly at the Coast continue to be the norm while minors drop from school to work in farms and mines in Western Kenya,” she said.
Banya however said that the move to train judicial officers and police to deal with cases of human trafficking was bearing fruit.
Addressing the press in Lake Naivasha Resort during a stakeholder’s workshop, Banya lauded Mombasa county for coming up with a bill prohibiting child labour.
“Under the ongoing ILO programme, we have made major strides with some counties like Mombasa moving to rein in child exploitation in the beaches and some hotels,” she said.
Cosmas Karera, a children's officer from Kajiado, attributed the high cases of child labor in the county to cultural practices like herding.
He said that the county was working on a child protection policy which would address rising cases of early marriage, child labour and FGM.
“We have seen a rise in cases of minors joining sand harvesting and herding and in many cases it’s the parents to blame for this,” he said.
Mikindani MCA Jacktone Madiaro said that Mombasa county was in the process of introducing a legal framework to address the rising cases of child exploitation mainly along the beaches.
“We have seen a rise in the number of minors hawking and even engaging in sex in Mombasa and we are working on a law to tame this vice,” he said.
The head of prevention at Awareness Against Human Trafficking Miriam Mang’oka identified border towns including Namanga and Busia as the most affected by human trafficking.
“Cases of human trafficking are on the rise as new markets emerge and the perpetrators are using the internet to recruit their victims, many of whom are sexually abused,” she said.