[PHOTO/Standard]
If you thought that witchcraft belongs only to the villages, you were wrong.
In pursuit of greater fortunes in the sex work industry, it has emerged that Nairobi sex workers have now resorted to supernatural powers to boost their businesses.
The good generous girls are frequenting witch doctors in and out of town to guarantee them a good inflow of men that come as clients of potential husbands.
“Beauty alone will not help. Beauty will attract a man, but the most important thing in this business is retaining a man. That’s why we employ any possible method to retain the men who come here,” say a worker interviewed by Standard.
Jane (not her real name) says that after ‘servicing’ their clients, they don’t throw away the condom used but instead guard and take it to a witchdoctor within twelve hours.
“Wanasema ikipita masaa kumi na mbili, nguvu ya sperms itaisha (we are advised that after 12 hours, the sperms will be weak),” she says.
The doctors make a concoction from the sperms and smear it the woman's forehead, breasts and inner thighs.
“Once ‘treated’, you are not supposed to shower for one hour. After showering, the man becomes a regular client,” she reveals.
The juju business is at its peak at Mlolongo, 14 kilometres from town.
“A lot of things happen in this town. Just look around, we have too many witchdoctors around here,” says a male observer.
“It’s not a secret that a number of women nowadays use ‘kamuti’ (black magic) to lure drivers and turn boys. Sometimes we find shocking things when cleaning the rooms. Not long ago, we found a dried chameleon stuffed in a mattress," says a lodging worker.
“If you check well, a number of women around these lodgings and restaurants have beads tied around their waists or ankles. These are not for beauty. They are charms given by witchdoctors to boost their businesses,” she adds.
But the male clients at Mlolongo blame the long hours spents on the roads away from their families as the reason that drags them into these beds of stolen leisure.
“Besides, some of us spend months on the road without meeting our spouses. What do you expect when a human being like me is shown ‘flesh’ when ‘hungry’?” asked one.
“I know some of my friends who never pass this town without picking a prostitute for sex on transit while the turn boy takes over the steering. Others spend the night in houses of women whose rent they pay," he added.