Kisii slowly graduating into 24-hour economy... sexually

By JAMES MBAKA

The sun sets, signaling the end of a hectic day for one batch of sex workers and ushering in yet another shift of girls practicing the world’s oldest occupation — prostitution. Before the Kisii county government moves to embrace a proposed 24-hour economy, the county’s girls are already literally knee deep in it — engaging in round-the-clock sex trade.

As darkness creeps in and major outlets close shop, the towering light masts cast a glow into the streets, not that they are needed. The nocturnal trade  is an interdependent blend of tea sellers, hawkers and young sex workers. Sex clients buy snacks and tea while sex workers maintain their steady supply.

The town is a major business destination because of its strategic location. It is home to Western Kenya’s second largest open-air market, Daraja Mbili. However, the hitherto conservative town is slowly transforming into a flesh trade destination. While some young girls have dropped out of school to engage in commercial sex work, others manage to slip out of their bedrooms at night; their parents and guardians unaware of their nocturnal activities.

Insatiable thirst

Whether these girls are driven by an insatiable thirst for money or their sexual exploits desires, the underlying image reflects a society whose young population remains rooted in promiscuity and unprotected sex in their voyage for self-indulgence.

As the night falls, the town remains a beehive of activity as girls still in their puberty line up as if in readiness for a hospitality reception waiting for clients.

Dressed in skimpy dresses with nothing left to the imagination, the twilight girls pose strategically as they endear themselves to their clients. In the middle of the flashlights emanating from mobile cars, the girls shamble and drag their feet, suggestively wagging and wiggling their hips from side to side as they saunter along the streets.

Others stand along the Kisii-Migori road, shaking their hips in response to music from the adjacent pubs. Some walk in school uniform to disguise clients of their ‘innocence’ and lure unsuspecting revellers.

One characteristic is evident — the twilight girls know themselves.

Those who walk in groups are mainly schoolgirls. During school holidays they literally take over the streets and lower class entertainment joints.

“My parents have not realised that I have not slept in my bedroom for the last three years of my secondary school life,” notes Jane Nyaboke 18*, a Form Four student in a day school in the outskirts of Kisii.  Jane says she has deceived her parents and operate as a sex worker in Kisii since she started secondary school.

She leases a room per night from the ‘mamas’ — out of business older sex workers — where she takes her clients. “I hire a room for Sh700 a night and I usually have between six to 10 clients a night,” says Jane who boosts of making up to Sh2,000 a night. Once the room is paid up for it remains under the person who leased it for 12 hours.

“Clients also used to pay Sh220 for room service and condoms but we increased to Sh320 in line with the increasing cost of the tools of trade,” she adds. It is tricky juggling education and commercial sex work for Jane. She reveals she has managed to sneak from her home without getting noticed. “I wait until 10pm when everybody has retired to bed to get out through the window and leave my two sisters asleep.”

She adds: “I then pick a boda boda some 100m from our compound to avoid raising suspicion. After I realised it was just a matter of time before my parents caught me, I opted to sleep on the floor and made a spare key for the gate”.

No regrets

While her father, a primary school teacher has never smelt a rat, Jane reckons many parents could be unaware of what their schoolgirls do at night. “I usually do my assignments till late into the night to ensure that I have no problem in my class work and then elude my unsuspecting parents and siblings before I leave for town,” Jane reveals of how she balances schoolwork and sex work.

She does not regret her engagement and does not contemplate quitting soon. “I meet loaded guys who give me what I want,” she quips.

After a classmate introduced her to the “money train”, today Jane frequently spends her time clubbing. Majority of the young sex workers move from club to club to get clients. “We began by just dancing in bars for fun and later dating wealthier men who pay us for sex,” recalls Jane.

Alice Biyaki*, 21 says she has been practicing prostitution for five years. She admits that the profession has undergone much transformation. “We never used to showcase this much but what can you do when competition thrives.”

She started the trade while in Form Three. Although she was in a boarding girls’ school within Kisii municipality, Alice used to elude the school management along with schoolmates who were then in Form Four to sneak out of school at night.

“I started by visiting a regular boyfriend at his residence within Kisii town but later moved in with several men through peer influence,” recalls Alice as she beckons a fellow sex worker in the beaming streetlights.

She now operates a leased room on daily. “I make some Sh1,000 to Sh2,000 a day,” she says.

Like Alice, Eunice, 22, was introduced to prostitution while in high school. She would bribe her way out by tipping school janitors. She ended up a seasoned professional. “We gave the ‘soldier’ (watchman) Sh100 and went out to clubs initially to dance,” she recalls.

Eunice now stays in a rented room at Jogoo estate in Kisii. She says she used to make up to Sh3,000 a night but business has dwindled with competition. “Our business peaks at end month when employees, especially rural-based teachers, come to town for their salaries. Then one can make up to Sh2,000 a night”.

She says during the day, the fee is usually low and majority of them serve for short hours to cash-in on many clients rather than stick with one.

In such days they serve between four and six clients.