The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) says 23% of girls are married before their 18th birthday.
UNICEF figures show that about one in every 12 girls lives under the danger of FGM, which further predisposes them to early marriages.
This problem is particularly rife in rural Kajiado. According to the 2015 Kenya National Adolescent and Youth Survey (NAYSHC), teenage pregnancy is one of the leading causes of school dropouts in the county. School girls here are also in danger of FGM and early marriages.
In the latest shocking revelations,a pupil in Class Five had to walk for 30km from home to escape a planned early marriage.
The 12-year-old student of Oltinka Primary School in Kajiado West, whose name is omitted for anonymity, was rescued by the PCEA Girls Rescue Centre.
The rescue centre manager Reverend Charles Maina attested that early marriages were a menace in the area.
“The trend of marrying off young girls and female genital mutilation (FGM) in Kajiado West is coming back. We have rescued 11 girls from December last year,” commented Rev. Maina.
The class five pupil has vowed to break the culture, fight poverty and raise money for her younger siblings.
After her father died, the cows he left the family as their only hope for livelihood were all killed by drought last year.
“My mother had told me that she will marry me off as a way of seeking property, including cattle, that will enable her to take care of my siblings since we do not have much in our home,” she added.