This archive report was first published on 21 April 2020.
On April 20, 2020, police in Emali town, Makueni County, conducted a surprise operation to enforce social distancing rules during the COVID-19 pandemic. The operation resulted in the arrest of 30 commercial sex workers and their clients, who were found violating the rules in two different lodgings.
According to Emali Sub-County Police Commander Okumu Dullo, the sex workers and their clients were taken to Mulala Girls School for a 14-day quarantine. Dullo stated that they would be arraigned after the pandemic for violating the directive to stay indoors and minimize the spread of COVID-19.
Three other individuals were also sent to the same quarantine centre for violating the dusk-to-dawn curfew. Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed had warned earlier that police would be carrying out operations to ensure compliance with government directives on preventing the spread of coronavirus.
Maalim had stated, “Whoever will be found outside during curfew time, those in public places without masks will be arrested and taken to safer places.” The operation has affected the livelihoods of the sex workers, who depend on truck drivers and revellers along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
Organizations that provide health talks and sensitization to commercial sex workers have been advising them to engage with local customers and not travel to other areas. However, some sex workers have subscribers in coastal areas, such as Mombasa, which they cannot access due to the lockdown and cessation.
