Concern over trafficking of women, girls from Uganda
A UN report to the Human Rights Council warns that women and girls are increasingly being trafficked for purposes of exploitation, including forced farm labour. Kenyan officials have warned that the country is becoming a hub of cross-border trafficking rings that exploit women and underage girls from Moroto in the Karamoja region of Uganda.
What you need to know:
- Deputy Labour Commissioner Bonaya Kase says perpetrators are taking advantage of the porous borders and high poverty levels in north-eastern Uganda.
- International Labour Organisation project manager Grace Banya termed it unfortunate for parents to use children as their source of income.
Kenya is becoming a hub of cross-border trafficking rings that exploit women and underage girls from Moroto District in the Karamoja region of Uganda.
Deputy Labour Commissioner Bonaya Kase noted that perpetrators are taking advantage of the porous borders and high poverty levels of the community from north-eastern Uganda to trap them in domestic servitude.
“Most of the girls are ferried to Nairobi's Eastleigh estate and get employed as domestic workers where they undergo worst forms of child labour and eventually end up as young mothers," he said.
The government official cautioned Kenyan households against recruiting and depriving children of their childhood.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) project manager Grace Banya, pointing out that they are working with stakeholders from both the countries, termed it unfortunate for parents to use children as their source of income.
Multi-agency crackdown
The stakeholders include the police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, judicial officers and immigration officers. They seek to end the smuggling of migrants.
“Kenya is a source, transit and destination country for child trafficking and forced labour. We risk plunging the country into a worse scenario if we don't take urgent measures to end the influx," she said.
In Kenya, the situation of child labour in Bungoma’s rural agriculture set-up, as it is reported that 15,680 learners are out of school.
Deputy Governor Jennifer Mbatiany pointed out that issues of child labour are rampant in Mt Elgon, Bumula, Tongaren, Kimilili and Chwele. Children aged between eight and 15 are engaged in hard labour on sugarcane and potato farms, herding and fetching firewood, among other jobs.
“On the other hand, there is a growing case of child prostitution along the Bungoma-Malaba highway in Kanduyi where truck drivers park their vehicles in the evening," she said.
Child protection policy
Ms Mbatiany added that they are working on a draft Bungoma County Child Protection Policy to safeguard the children from abuse. Children are subjected to child and forced labour due to lack of a centralised supervisory authority along with inadequate funding, training and resources, which has hampered the capacity of law enforcement agencies to conduct inspections and investigations.
Through the Capsa project, Ms Banya stated that the ILO seeks to build the capacity of the governments of Kenya and Uganda to combat child labour, forced labour and violations of acceptable conditions of work.
“It does this by helping the governments strengthen enforcement of their laws and regulations, improve assistance services for victims and enhance coordination between law enforcement and social protection entities," she said.
The National Council on Children’s Services (NCCS) estimates that about 17,500 Kenyans are trafficked annually for domestic work, forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation, of which about 50 per cent are likely to be minors.
Most of them are recruited by legal or illegal employment agencies or voluntarily migrate overseas, particularly to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Oman.
