A top Anti- Banking Fraud Unit officer and a senior city cop have been linked to the thriving p0rn0graphy business in Nairobi.
Police
sources say the man based at the Central Bank of Kenya is a major
investor in the sex sector while the security chief uses his extensive
connections to offer protection. The revelations come as Kenya remains
gripped by reports of alleged bestiality, which has since been denied,
in Mombasa involving 11 young women purportedly at the behest of Swiss
national Christoph Clement Weissenerider. In court, the women have been
charged with prostitution while the foreigner is accused of luring them
into it. The Twitter hash tag #P0rnDeDog, has been trending as Kenyans
on social media express their wonder and wit.
Coast police have
also alleged that the Swiss and a woman accomplice on the run have been
running a similar dirty business in Nairobi, mostly to serve fee-paying
foreign customers.
American pastor
The last time
such an incident created so much public debate was in 2009 when
Nairobi-based American pastor, Thomas Kevin Manton of Dominion
International church, was accused of recording sexual encounters,
purported to involve him and local girls, on DVD for commercial use. The
man of God was however acquitted by chief magistrate Uniter Kidula a
year later for lack of evidence. The American had pleaded his innocence,
saying his accusers wanted to grab his wealth and bring down his
ministry.
But as the current debate continues, our investigations
indicate that a spacious cybercafe at a building near the junction of
Tom Mboya and Ronald Ngala streets is a major hub for recruiting actors
in p0rn0graphic videos. The facility is also used to edit and duplicate
the dirty discs for mass distribution locally and internationally.
Financiers, producers, marketers and actors usually meet there, but the
shooting of the videos is done in multiple locations in the city centre
and residential estates, mostly in the leafy surburbs.
The area of
the CBD generally referred to as ‘River Road’ also hosts many smaller
outlets for producing the videos. Indeed, it is no longer news that porn
movies — many of them of poor quality — perhaps in the spirit of
‘devolution’, have for the last few years been produced in various local
languages.
But there are others in the high-end market, who
supplies well-to-do local and international customers. A p0rn movie
producer, who talked to us on condition of anonymity, said the CBK
investigator recently paid Sh150,000 down payment for a new camera as
demand has been rising. He reveals that in the last four months he has
given the top cop Sh140,000 protection money, but he never regrets it.
“One
thing I am sure of is that I can never be raided by the cops. As long
as he is around, I am safe. The top cop never comes here, but we meet at
a club in Westlands,” says the producer.
He says those involved in the business need protection — which cascades to the vendors.
“No vendor will want to sell your wares if they are arrested,” he says.
The
producer, in his late 20s, is well groomed and drinks the finest
whiskeys. He drives a modest Toyota Alex and intends to import a Mark II
before the year ends. His closest friends do not know what he does for a
living. They think he is in the ICT business.
“I am an IT
graduate. I started shooting p0rn for fun in campus, and in 2010 I
uploaded some videos online just out of mischief. That got me thinking,
why can’t I sell p0rn? It’s a job like any other job, and when the money
comes, the petrol station attendant will still fuel my car irrespective
of how I made my money,” he said.
Homosexual movies
The
producer said apart from same-sex scenes, there is a high demand for
homosexual movies, which sell at double the price (usually Sh1,000). He
is, however, not aware of child p0rnography, which he said is highly
secretive.
So lucrative is the illegal porn film industry that the
producer said this year he has had to shift from the ‘jua kali
production’ and invest in state-of-the-art equipment. He said the local
industry has also attracted international talent with a German producer,
based at Karen C, said to be the most prolific.
Our source broke
down the cost of shooting a porn video. Crews that do not have cameras
hire them at Sh7,000 per day and one has to buy tapes at Sh2,000 each.
Lights are on average charged at Sh8,000 per day. The male actors are
paid between Sh7,000 and Sh10,000 per scene, while the female actors are
paid at least Sh5,000. Our source said the male actors are more
difficult to find.
The producer we talked to said he makes 80 per
cent of his sales online. He also has two websites and one blog where
interested buyers send him money through mobile money transfer services.
Delivery of the physical DVDs is done by a motorcycle rider while
customers upcountry are sent their packages of pleasure through courier.
“I charge Sh500 for normal porn movies, but to have it delivered, you have to send an additional Sh200,” he said.
Porn producers know each other and they usually avoid encroaching on each other’s territory.
“I
know about seven other people who do what we do, and we are all
competing for the same market. Presently, I have two other producers who
use my channels to sell their movies. They are mainly involved in the
production and they don’t want to get their hands dirty by engaging in
marketing,” he said, but claimed that over the years international porn
film producers, mostly on tourist visas, have been making one-off visits
to shoot for a few weeks.
On average, he makes up to Sh100,000,
after production costs from sales of the movies. In fact, the producer
said like a musician who earns royalty, his old movies continue to
sustain his profits for years.
Our contacts also led us to some of
the porn stars. One of them, nicknamed Karua, who operates in the city
centre, has acted in two porn videos. Her housemate, a stripper, has
also acted many blue movies.
“I was paid Sh10,000 to act with two men,” she said, adding that she will not mind doing it again, but at a higher rate.
Karua said her stripper housemate was recruited by a white customer for a group sex movie at $200 (Sh16,600)
Weird sex acts
“When
she came home with the money, the next time she was to go back to the
mzungu, I asked if I could come and that was my first movie.
Unfortunately, the mzungu was on a short visit and he went back to
Europe. I don’t know if he ever sold our videos,” she said.
However,
another prostitute in Westlands, who has acted in two porn movies, said
some of their white customers have weird demands and usually ask to
film sex acts. One of them was a few years ago known to hire prostitutes
for his dog at a generous amount — as long as he filmed. Other than
prostitutes, university students are also said to be some of the most
willing actors of porn films.
As the ongoing case in Mombasa may
reveal, Kenya’s connection to the international porn market, be it
online or the sale of DVDs offline, appears to be growing.
In
August 2011, US authorities indicated that Kenyans were among those
involved in an international child pornography syndicate that thrived on
the sharing of images over an exclusive members-only internet facility,
Dreamboard.
US authorities then described the year long Operation
Dalego as one of their biggest moves against child pornography, but the
encryption of the site made it impossible to identify all those
involved. It is said members shared images of adults sexually abusing
children — some of them children.
Nairobi police never opened
their own investigations on the syndicate even though the then city
police boss Anthony Kibuchi said in August 2011 alone they had arrested
at least 10 people over involvement in pornography.
“I was paid Sh10,000 to act with two men,” she said, adding that she will not mind doing it again, but at a higher rate.
Karua said her stripper housemate was recruited by a white customer for a group sex movie at $200 (Sh16,600)
Weird sex acts
“When
she came home with the money, the next time she was to go back to the
mzungu, I asked if I could come and that was my first movie.
Unfortunately, the mzungu was on a short visit and he went back to
Europe. I don’t know if he ever sold our videos,” she said.
However,
another prostitute in Westlands, who has acted in two porn movies, said
some of their white customers have weird demands and usually ask to
film sex acts. One of them was a few years ago known to hire prostitutes
for his dog at a generous amount — as long as he filmed. Other than
prostitutes, university students are also said to be some of the most
willing actors of porn films.
As the ongoing case in Mombasa may
reveal, Kenya’s connection to the international porn market, be it
online or the sale of DVDs offline, appears to be growing.
In
August 2011, US authorities indicated that Kenyans were among those
involved in an international child pornography syndicate that thrived on
the sharing of images over an exclusive members-only internet facility,
Dreamboard.
US authorities then described the year long Operation
Dalego as one of their biggest moves against child pornography, but the
encryption of the site made it impossible to identify all those
involved. It is said members shared images of adults sexually abusing
children — some of them children.
Nairobi police never opened
their own investigations on the syndicate even though the then city
police boss Anthony Kibuchi said in August 2011 alone they had arrested
at least 10 people over involvement in pornography.
“Unlike other
international blue movies, the camera work is poor and the lighting is
bad, but I think people just want to watch what they call ‘native
porn’,” he said, adding that producers giving directions to the actors
can often be heard speaking in Kiswahili in the background.
Involvement
in pornography or the handling of pornographic material is illegal in
Kenya. But like prostitution, it continues to thrive.
City porn hotspots
However,
in the wake of the Mombasa incident, whose connection to the capital
have been established, city police have mapped out areas where
pornographic activities take place. Our sources indicated that parts of
the city centre, Westlands and Hurlingham, host the main spots. So
serious is the situation that it came up at a recent security meeting
convened by Governor Evans Kidero.
Police say they had information
that prominent people frequented brothels where young girls are being
exposed to sex, while others are involved in producing pornographic
material for commercial use.
“We are organising with the City
Inspectorate to raid those brothels. It is something we discussed last
week with the Governor, who was concerned,” said Nairobi police chief
Benson Kibue
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