The action of arresting the twilight women and girls in Kisii town has generated a heated debate both in social media, from civil society groups and political leaders.
A good number condemned the arrest that took place on Friday last week, terming it discriminatory, in the sense that the crackdown only targeted women giving men a clean bill of health.
“Why only women were arrested? Do they carry out the business alone? Come ooooon…the government must be serious and impartial in the crackdown of sex workers in the town. Nobody is special than another and for that matter, men should also be held culpable because they contribute to the escalation of the business,” said Essy Okenyuri in her Facebook account.
“What happened in Kisii is indeed a breach of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights popularly known as the Maputo Protocol,” wrote Elias Nyaberi in his Facebook account.
He added: “Ongwae's enforcement officers have shown that they least understand that the right to be informed on one’s health status includes the rights of women to access adequate, reliable, non-discriminatory and comprehensive information about their health.”
However, the Kisii Chamber of Commerce chairman Benjamin Onkoba has been in the forefront condemning the business in the town, arguing that they paint dirty image in the town and degraded moral standards of the Abagusii community.
Onkoba observed the number of prostitutes in Kisii town has escalated due to increased dropout cases among teenage girls who engage in the business to get instant incomes.
He has challenged the government to step up in the fight against the vice to restore moral standards among the young generation.
“The government must to move swiftly and ensure that those engaging in the illegal business are arrested and charged. For this matter, I put the county commissioner into task.”
Kisi central police in conjunction with enforcement officers arrested the suspects in a night long crackdown.
Kisii resident Judge, John Njoroge granted the suspects a cash bail of Sh2,000 each after denying the charges. The next hearing of the case is slated for Monday next week.