Unlike back when one had to physically look or rely on referrals, the internet has made sex trade easier.
The first thing she does every morning is to pray for two things: That God protects her and her sisterhood in their endeavours of peddling flesh to willing customers, and that God provides financial resources to all her customers.
This is the story of Caren* (not her real name), a mother of four and in her mid-40s, who practices prostitution at one of the numerous low-grade hotels-cum-brothels that operate clandestinely in Nairobi city centre.
Her current work station is at one of those dingy buildings at the junction of Luthuli Avenue and River Road. She has been stationed here for the last seven years.
It was never really her plan to engage in this business: The oldest trade in the world.
She started off as a supermarket attendant in two of the leading outlets at the time that have since gone under for different reasons in the country’s capital.
This job was really taxing, she said, and after counting what she earned in comparison to her life’s needs and wants, she made the decision to try her hand in the sale of household items and clothes along Luthuli Avenue.
At this point, she had separated from her husband and was forced to double her efforts in fending for her family.
Her eldest son recently graduated from university and she swears that he does not know what she actually does. In fact, no one in her family knows how she makes her money.
“I have a kibanda (tiny kiosk) in my estate where I sell vegetables and fruits in the morning hours before I report on duty at town in the afternoon. That kibanda job does not bring anything, what I do here (at the brothel) is what feeds my family,” she said.
It, however, once got awkward when she was working out of her tiny booked room and had “serviced” a client that she chanced upon her nephew who had also visited the area to get “served” by one of the at least 50 women who operate in that building.
The meeting stunned them both into silence.
The young man, after several seconds of looking for the right words, told her he understood that she had to hustle for his cousins’ survival and even gave her a Sh1,000 to support her business.
It also went without saying that this rendezvous is never to be brought up anywhere in the family circles. This has remained so for the past three years since it happened.
For every client she has, she charges between Sh300 and Sh500 per session, depending on how they negotiate.
This charge does not include the Sh100 paid for the tiny rooms where the transaction occurs.
“I prefer the one-minute men because they finish what they want very fast, pay then leave. They are good for business unlike some who take so long,” she said, a comment that was widely appreciated by three other women who were also sharing their experiences with Nation.Africa.
Some days are tough for business, but some are very good, says Wanjiru*, who operates an M-Pesa shop near the brothel to conceal her real business.
She makes at least Sh2,500 in a day whenever she visits her workplace in the city centre. Her plan is to eventually exit the city centre at the end of this year.
Unlike Caren* who is wary of “marketing” herself on the internet because anyone, including her relatives, can spot her, Wanjiru, who is in her mid-20s, says the online business has doubled her earnings over the last three years.
She has an Only Fans account. Only Fans is a website where people who produce pornographic material— including photographs and videos — post their content and earn some money from their monthly subscriptions.
At times, one can book an appointment with his/her Only Fan content producer and have a session where one asks the content creator to livestream lurid videos or photos at a cost paid to the channel’s owner.
Other than this specific website, she has TikTok to thank for her increased earnings.
It is on the popular video-sharing application that she posts raunchy content that attracts high traffic to her landing page where she has links that redirects her followers to her Instagram and Only Fans pages.
This is the trend for some of the most popular crop of pornographic content producers in the country including a local influencer who has gone on record saying she is proud of her business and that she deals with an informed audience so she does not really care about her critics.
The influencer declined our request for an interview for this article.
With a substantial following on social media, she has made a name for herself by posting links to her various accounts.
However, Ms Wanjiru* has not yet reached these levels of fame from her online channels. She shared her TikTok page with the Nation. She has 17,000 followers.
Her biggest earner is Only Fans where she gets direct messages from some of her subscribers who request her to livestream some lurid content for them.
For a 20-minute private session with an Only Fan follower, she charges between Sh1,000 to Sh3,000. In a good month, she averages over Sh150,000 an amount which when combined with her sporadic physical meet-ups with clients at the city centre, affords her a comfortable considering she is, in her own words, the “last born in a family of successful siblings”
“I have no expenses; my siblings and parents followed the socially accepted trend of studying and getting decent jobs. All the money I make is mine. I chose a different route. Sex is one of the most basic human subjects yet people pretend that it is a taboo. I am a graduate, but this is my path and I am here to stay,” she said.
True to her words, she says she graduated four years ago with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
It is just that working 8am to 5pm as is the daily rote for most of her former classmates is not her thing considering how easy it is to make money from “Only Fans" because you simply follow your client’s instructions and get paid for it. Some do not even want explicit content.”
Currently, she has invested her money in Money Market Funds, in two, one-bedroom apartments in South C estate that she subleases for bed and breakfast facilities (AirbnB), as well as in two different Saccos where she saves her money and is soon buying a plot in Kamulu, along Kagundo Road.
Ms Wanjiru alongside thousands of other Kenyans are some of the beneficiaries of this new crop of prostitution that not only ensures their physical safety because they meet their clients virtually but also get their money without hullaballoo as is sometimes the case when a client refuses to pay during physical meet-ups.
Last year Only Fans, which is owned by London-based Fenix International Limited, reported that the platform generated $6.63 billion (Sh854.1 billion) in gross revenues for the year ended on November 30, 2023.
Some of the global top earners on the platform include celebrities like Iggy Azalea who last year’s data showed she earned a monthly estimated revenue of $9.2 million (Sh1.18 billion) from Only Fans.
She is followed by Coco Austin is an American television personality and actress who earns around $9 million (Sh1.16 billion) on a monthly basis.
All these are a testament that this adult-only website has become an avenue for daring content creators to make a killing from their videos and e-meets that are at times pre-recorded or streamed in real time.
Unlike when one had to physically look or rely on referrals from trusted acquaintances to get an escort to satiate his/her sexual needs, the internet has made it very easy.
Gone are the days where Tinder, an online dating application, led the pack in connecting love birds or people seeking company with random and willing strangers virtually.
At times, the business of the flesh can be risky, especially for commercial sex workers who physically meet their clients. Some of those who seek their services not only refuse to pay but turn violent.
This once happened to Caren when she agreed to leave a client who was pleased with her service at the hotel in the city centre and promised to pay her an additional Sh3,000 for an hour at another lodging facility in Nairobi’s Ngara.
The client paid in cash and up front as is the norm of the business. If a client pays via mobile money, the commercial sex worker transfers it elsewhere immediately. This, they do to avoid instances where a client reverses the transaction.
Just after finishing her task, Caren recounted how the otherwise calm and collected client turned very aggressive and started hitting her hard ordering her to do strange things.
“I realised I was no match for him physically. I tricked him into letting me go to the bathroom to freshen up then sneaked out of the room. Luckily, we have basic security awareness and I had left my bag and phone at the receptionist. I hurriedly picked my wares and told the receptionist the room number where the man was. I do not know what would have happened to me,” she said.
At other times, they are harassed by city county or police officers who round them up and charge them in court for loitering because whereas living off the proceeds of prostitution is a crime, the act of prostitution in itself is not one. This often leaves the authorities with no choice but to charge the ladies with loitering, a charge that they are fined Sh500 and go back to the streets.
Though some episodes go haywire in this great series of searching for a living through sex, Caren says she thanks God for men in her life because they “provide her with means to provide for her family”.
Ultimately, her goal is to leave the business in less than a year. She has saved up close to half a million to start a hair, salon and spa business. She is currently short of some Sh100,000 and is sure she will save it up in a few months.
“No one should judge us. We probably pray more than everyone else because our business is very risky. God has so far proved very faithful because yes, we have challenges, but at the same time we make a decent income that sustains our families,” she said.
