Strip-at-ease, madam police officer

From kitu kidogo to involvement in armed robbery, carjacking and kidnapping, rogue police officers are now sugarcoating community policing by offering nude lap dances to inebriated men in stripping joints in Nairobi, we can reveal. As darkness sets in, the officers - three policewomen and one prison wardress - defy the official code of conduct and ‘present arms’ to patrons who have no idea that the sexy birds, whom they occasionally romp with, are law enforcers with a kinky streak and an eye for the dollar. On good nights when Nairobi men are running wild, the police and prison strippers rake cash amounting to about Sh50,000 a month – money that is far more than their approximate Sh20,000 salaries, since many of them are Constables trying to make ends meet by hook and (mostly) crook. When The Nairobian contacted Police Deputy Inspector General Grace Kaindi to comment on this breach of official code of conduct, unless the officers are working undercover for the CID, she said she had no clue. “I am not aware. Can you send me their names and the club?” she responded in a text message. The cardinal rule of the thumb in this fun-cum-income making game is to cover their tracks. And the crime busters have succeeded. One of them has been stripping for the last three years but her double life has never been discovered, save for a few close friends who are aware of her side hustle. According to a colleague who spoke to The Nairobian in confidence, one of them, a divorcee, is now addicted to strip teasing and will be found doing her thing whenever she is not assigned duties at night. The ‘licensed to kill and thrill’ strippers prefer a particular dingy stripping club in downtown Nairobi where fellow officers hardly patronise due to safety concerns. Once on the job, they expose their boobs, butts and camel toes while wildly gyrating,  to the excitement of revellers. One of The Nairobian writers had an up-close and candid conversation with one of the strippers AJ, 25, before hitting the road and heading to the club to witness the cops swing into action. According to our source, who is a police officer, colleagues who perform lap dances in town include LK and LO, attached to police stations in Eastlands, AK, a prison wardress, and an AP officer only identified as M, who is stationed at a chief’s camp along Thika Road. And it is no child’s game. One of their colleagues, whose identity remained a guarded secret, was reportedly admitted in hospital after being sodomised by a client. The writer was accompanied by a male police officer familiar with the actions of his stripping colleagues. He claimed some of them were close friends he met in the course of duty while others were in college with him. AJ, after sharing with The Nairobian why she chose this lifestyle, declined a lap dance request by this writer on September 26, claiming it was too late. It was a few minutes past 11pm. “I cannot say I am fully here because of money, I sometimes come to enjoy myself. I am a single mother with one child, so I can decide what to do with my free time. Maybe when I climb the ranks, I will quit,” she said. AJ says Fridays are the best days for making cash and that she ensures she gets enough time to engage in her side hustle. LK was described as a cheerful, fun loving officer who is in her late 30s. She operates a boutique in Embakasi. LO separated from her husband last December. “Whenever I check in the club on Fridays, I must meet her. Several times, she has given me a nice massage, but we know each other very well having met while training in college,” the officer told one of these writers. The prison wardress identified as K is stationed at a city prison. She is in her late 20s and her exotic dances are mostly on Saturdays. She is said to be single and from a relatively well-off background. M, the AP officer, now doubles up as a matatu owner, although she still frequents the club, which charges between Sh1,000 and Sh1,500 entrance fee. The money is shared between the girls, club owner and sometimes performing artists.  photo:blogs.miaminewtimes.com