CAPTION: Chama Cha Uzalendo leader Wavinya Ndeti visits an IEBC centre for registration updates in Athi River, Machakos County on Friday.
A Mlolongo Ward MCA hopeful has taken his voter listing campaigns to brothels as IEBC registration deadline nears.
Danson Ndungu said sex workers had been ignored in the exercise despite the fact that they need to participate in electing leaders as a way of exercising their democratic rights.
“These women face same problems as other residents in Mlolongo, it is their constitutional right and mandate to change guard of area leadership,” said Ndungu.
Ndungu said over 800 sex workers had registered as voters in IEBC registration centres located in Mlolongo town as he addressed the press in Mlolongo town on Friday.
He criticized the current leadership of Machakos Government arguing it had not done much in initiating development projects in a bid to change livelihoods.
He said sex workers need to participate in electing right leaders who can find lasting solutions to unemployment, insecurity, tribalism, poor infrastructure and lack of land title deeds.
“There is too much tribalism among the current leaders, most of vulnerable children have been denied bursaries for school fee because they do not belong to certain tribe,” said Ndungu.
Ndungu said he decided to use his personal resources to mobilize residents to access voter cards so as to end tribalism alongside discrimination.
“We need to live in unity as Kenyans, I have brought the town’s business community together for well-being of their personal welfare,” said Ndungu.
He said commercial workers should not be discriminated and looked down upon.
Some residents, however, criticized Ndungu for promoting prostitution in Mlolongo town.
They said the trader who runs several clubs in the town and its environs owns the brothels.
“Ndungu is exploiting the sex workers, he owns the makeshift brothels located next to his pubs,” a resident said.
He said the Jubilee candidate charges a fee for using those makeshifts to operate.
Ndungu, however, trashed the claims saying he was out to help the unemployed women earn livelihoods, what local leaders had failed to do.
“I even feed the women with my own resources, I do it occasionally if I am in a position to do so since it's expensive,” said Ndungu.