This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
Coastal residents are struggling to cope with the economic downturn, with some turning to desperate measures to survive.
One such case involves a 13-year-old girl from Mtwapa who was introduced to a 65-year-old white man by her father, who hoped to raise school fees through the arrangement.
According to the girl, her father, a hotelier, had not raised the fees, and she was sent away from school. Two months later, her father and grandmother introduced her to the white man, claiming it was the only way she would raise school fees.
She recalls, 'It all began after I had been sent away from school over fees. Two months later, my father, a hotelier, had not raised fees. Together with my grandmother they introduced me to a white man, claiming it was the only way I would raise school fees.'
The white man was a friend of her father's, whom he knew from frequenting the hotel where he worked.
She adds, 'My mother went to Qatar for work and has never returned and I doubt she is still married to my father because they no longer communicate.'
The relationship went on for close to a year and ended after the girl finished school and secured a lowly job.
She recalls, 'He began by paying Ksh. 3,000, at times Ksh. 5,000 and went on until at some point he would pay tens of thousands.'
Another case involves a girl named Riziki, who was in form two when her parents asked her to drop out and help them fend for their family.
She recalls, 'My father, who was a beach boy, helped me get a job of selling ornaments to tourists at the beach. But one day, he shocked me when he told me a tourist he was with had liked me and wanted to have a good time with me.'
She adds, 'My father also taught me Italian and German so as to easily communicate with clients and warned me never to reveal I was his daughter to them.'
Such cases are reportedly common in Malindi, Kilifi, and Mtwapa, with some parents having no qualms about pimping out their daughters to sex tourists.
Local resident Kazungu Kai says, 'There are way too many sex pests roaming coastal cities. The unfortunate bit is, parents to young girls have no qualms pimping them out to them, so long as they are making money.'
Child activist Alice Ngao notes that the problem is complex, with some older commercial sex workers introducing their teenage daughters into the business.
She says, 'It’s a big problem, with Mtwapa being turned into a Sodom and Gomorrah of sorts. It’s not just parents, some girls have also increasingly become materialistic and hawk themselves to these men.'
One case that stands out is that of Kimani, who rented out his wife to a tourist, masquerading as his sister, to make ends meet.
He says, 'Why should I make another woman rich yet my wife is jobless? That is the question Kimani asked himself, before making the strange decision of renting away his wife for weeks.'
Kimani and his wife have been in the business for a while now and make up to Sh40,000 in a good month when she gets good clients.
Local authorities, including Mtwapa police boss, say such cases are common, but they can’t do anything when no official complaint has been filed.
