Ngala Mwavuo Kitsao, Madiha Salim Khamis, Samwel Kiti Lewa

Early marriage is any matrimonial union under the age of eighteen. Kilifi County the area of study is home to the nine related Bantu sub-tribes commonly known as the Mijikenda people which comprises of the Giriama, Chonyi, Kauma, Ribe, Rabai, Jibana, Kambe, Digo and Duruma while others are the Bajuns and Kenyan Arabs. Kilifi County has a big poverty index with food insecurity affecting around many of households in the county. This research looked at the effects of early marriage on social development in Kilifi County. This research was conducted in the wards of Ganda, Kakuyuni and Jilore in Kilifi County, because this practice is assumed or imagined to exist more in those wards. The researcher made use of existing relevant literatures so as to identify gaps that existed. The research used the cultural relativism theory and social mobility theory which were identified due to their relevance to the study. The sample size of this research was arrived at by using the simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. The target population was nineteen thousand, four hundred and seventy-four households, but only one hundred and thirty-six of them were selected to participate in the study. The sample size was one hundred and thirty-six households’ heads, who included village elders, religious leaders, ward administrators and community opinion leaders all from the three selected wards. The sampling unit was the household; this is due to the dependent variable of social development. This study used both qualitative and quantitative research methods where both correlational and exploratory research designs were used. The instruments for data collection that was used in the study were questionnaires and interview guide. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version twenty was used to analyse quantitative data on qualitative data the researcher applied thematic analysis. The findings of this study concluded that early marriage negatively affect social development leading to abject poverty.

Keywords: Early Marriage, Social Development, Giriama