By Pkemoi Ng'enoh Thursday, May 26th 2016
Demand for male prostitutes in the city has shot up compared to that of female sex workers, The Nairobian has learnt.
Our investigations on city streets have also established that some cops and high-profile figures are involved in the business.
The male sex workers, popularly known as makuchu, walk in groups along city streets — some line up with female sex workers for clients.
Away from the streets, those who don’t want to be seen outside hunting for clients have identified specific clubs in the city centre.
When we arrived at a popular joint on Tsavo Road on a Wednesday afternoon, our source who happens to be a homosexual and operates as a sex worker, pointed out a cop who was already entertaining two male sex workers with drinks before leaving for ‘the act’ at a nearby lodging.
“He is a regular client here, but he pays well. I’ve slept with him more than three times. He is a gentleman, though he can sleep with three different men in a day when he visits. The last time he paid me Sh5,000 for the whole afternoon,” claims Jack, our source.
Jack, a father of one, has been in the business for more than six years now. He told The Nairobian that he left his home in Narok in search of greener pastures in Nairobi.
“Even before coming to the city, I was already into it. A friend of mine introduced me to homosexuality,” revealed Jack.
Though Jack claims to have parted ways with his wife following a small misunderstanding, she (wife) has never found out that he is a male prostitute.
“Even my family members are not sure what I do for a living. But not long ago, my brother told me I walked and behaved like a gay — I told him to let me be to lead my life,” he said.
Being in the business, Jack claims, has not changed him much because “I still love women.”
“We get more customers on the streets, but sometimes we fall into traps of cons, police officers and county askaris who besides extorting money also want to sleep with us.
Mark, another male sex worker who has been in the business since 1994, said he was introduced into homosexuality by a friend. “I was a hawker within Uhuru Park until a friend revealed to me how he made so much money from sleeping with white men who used to flood the recreational park then.”
He revealed that, “I’ve operated all over the city and even slept with high-profile figures. I’ve got a wife and two kids back home in Kitui, but nobody knows how I survive in the city.”
Mark claims that he has witnessed the rising number of homosexual sex workers and says that whenever he works around town, he never fails to spot them.
“It is easy to spot them from their walking style, dressing, hairdo and nails. In clubs, there is a finger sign that most clients are familiar with and will look out for before heading to the toilets to strike the deal.”
He added that, “Sometimes we tip cleaners in toilets and have quickies with customers for around Sh200 or Sh500 in clubs along Accra Road”.
Male sex workers living with HIV met and formed HOYMAS in 2009. It first began as a social support group and club for male sex workers who were living with HIV and Aids and for those still engaged in sex work.
Rogue Muhindi who never pays men after sex
A number of men in the business who spoke to The Nairobian are not happy with an Asian man who has been tricking them after the act and vanishes without paying even a coin.
The middle-aged man is said to operate between Kenyatta Avenue all the way to Moi Avenue hunting for young men who are yet to understand his tricks.
Ric, one of the victims claimed that, “He approached me at a petrol station along Koinange Street and agreed to pay me Sh3,000. I boarded his Toyota Fielder and we sped off towards Mombasa Road. We stopped at a bushy area around 11pm and we had sex for more than twenty minutes. He told me to follow him to get to his car for payment but sped off.”
