Abstract
This paper is drawn from a study that was done in 2014 in Kenya. The study focuses on child labour-a typical issue of concern in Kenya and beyond. More specifically, the study explores in detail the phenomenon of child labour in rural and urban Kenyan settings taking the cases of Kakuzi location, Murang’a County and Kibera slum, Nairobi County. To achieve this broad objective, the study was guided by four research questions namely; (a) what is the nature of child labour?; (b) what is the magnitude of child labour?; (c) what are the determinants of child labour and (d) what are the consequences of child labour in Kenya? A comparative survey research of a total of 160 female heads of households was undertaken in the two study sites. The study found out that there are more opportunities for child labour in rural areas than in urban areas. Hence, it was found that child labour is apparently more common in the rural areas as compared to urban areas. Commercial agriculture is the main sector that demands the use of child labour in rural areas while domestic labour is the greatest consumer of child labour in urban areas. The findings further suggested measures that can address the problem of child labour in Kenya including; (a) improved access to education; (b) economic empowerment of parents/guardians; (c) proper enforcement of law safeguarding children’s rights and (d) provision of basic necessities to the affected children.
Keywords: Child labour, rural, urban, Kenya