Although data on the prevalence and magnitude of child labour are inadequate, the number of
children working under intolerable conditions in Kenya is estimated at over 3 million.
However, the number of domestic child workers and children working in the informal sector
are much more difficult to estimate because child labour in these two sectors is largely
invisible. This invisibility is mainly attributed to the privacy of the domestic sector, the
ineffectiveness of legislation, inadequate capacity on the part of the labour inspection unit,
paucity of data, cultural values and perceptions as well as lack of public awareness. The
problem is compounded by the fact that no legal minimum age of employment has been set in
either the informal or the domestic sector. In addition, a lot of Kenyans are not aware of the
problem of child labour in general and that of domestic child worker in particular. Children’s
work as domestic servants is generally regarded as a normal process of child up-bringing and
many families and child employers expect children to work and contribute to their families’
income