Kotido RDC Issues Stern Warning on Child Labor

Charles Ichogor, the Kotido Resident District Commissioner, has issued a stern warning to individuals employing children of school-going age in the district. He stated that anyone found employing minors will face arrest if they continue this practice.

According to Ichogor, many children, particularly girls aged 8 to 17 years, are employed daily in homes and businesses in Kotido. These children are tasked with jobs such as washing clothes, working in gardens, and hawking merchandise.

These children earn between 2,000 to 5,000 shillings per day, money often used to purchase food for their families. Ichogor pointed out that this practice has led to a concerning rise in school dropouts, with many parents encouraging their children to abandon education in favor of casual labor. This trend, he says, has also exposed adolescent girls to sexual activities, resulting in early pregnancies.

Statistics from the district education office show that the primary school completion and retention rate in Kotido stands at a mere 20%. As the second school term begins, Ichogor emphasized that authorities will not tolerate child labor or hawking. Children found engaging in these activities will be rounded up, and those employing them will face arrest and prosecution in the courts of law.

//Cue in: “We are going to be tough…

Cue out: “…guard their future jealously.”//

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), child labor is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, potential, and dignity, and is harmful to their physical or mental development. A 2021 report by World Vision reveals that around 160 million children aged 5 to 17 worldwide are engaged in child labor. These children work in jobs that deprive them of their childhood, interfere with their schooling, or harm their mental, physical, or social development.