CS Mutua: 133 children rescued in suspected trafficking cases in 8 months
A civil society report submitted to the UN also indicates that human trafficking in Kenya is fueled by poverty, unemployment, and weak legal frameworks.
The Ministry of Labour has rescued 133 children in the last eight months in suspected cases of child trafficking.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said the children were saved by the Directorate of Children’s Services (DCS), which oversees the National Assistance Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking and the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Advisory Committee.
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The fund provides rescue, essential support, and repatriation assistance for trafficking victims. “From July 2024 to the present, 133 victims have been rescued and assisted,” Mutua said.
According to the CS, the children were set to travel overseas without a parent or legal guardian. During the same period, the ministry approved travel for 2,650 children.
Mutua made these remarks while addressing the Senate’s National Cohesion, Equal Opportunity, and Regional Integration Committee.
His statement comes in the wake of a report from the US highlighting the trafficking of Kenyan women and girls to brothels in the Middle East and Asia.
The 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report also indicates that Kenya has become a hotspot for traffickers recruiting foreigners for sex work.
“Traffickers exploit women and children in sex trafficking, often facilitated by family members in informal settings and increasingly using online recruitment throughout Kenya, including extraterritorial sexual exploitation and abuse in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu,” the report states.
A civil society report submitted to the UN also indicates that human trafficking in Kenya is fueled by poverty, unemployment, and weak legal frameworks.
CS Mutua told the committee, chaired by Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute, that the DCS is leading efforts to repatriate and reintegrate Kenyans trafficked to Myanmar.
The advisory committee offers guidance on anti-trafficking strategies and supports programmes that prevent, protect, and rehabilitate victims.
Mutua also disclosed that 120,909 cases of violence against children were reported to DCS offices last year.
Over the past three years, 499,298 cases have been handled countrywide.
A 2019 Violence Against Children (VAC) survey revealed that nearly half of the females (45.9 per cent) and more than half of males (56.1 per cent) experience childhood violence in Kenya.
Physical violence is the most common form, with 38.8 per cent of females and 51.9% of males reporting such incidents.
Additionally, 15.6 per cent of females experienced childhood sexual violence, with most facing multiple incidents before turning 18.
“The directorate implements the Spot It Stop It campaign to raise awareness on responsible caregiving and the negative impact of VAC,” Mutua said.
The government is also running campaigns against harmful practices such as female genital mutilation, child marriage, and online sexual exploitation of children.
The DCS operates 30 statutory institutions, including rehabilitation schools, children’s remand homes, rescue centres, and reception and assessment centres.
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