Commercial sex workers in Othaya have started fighting off ‘outsider’
prostitutes flocking to town ahead of the annual tea bonus this week.
Tea
growers are to receive millions of shillings in the windfall. The
prospects have attracted sex workers from as far as Mombasa and Eldoret.
It is always a bonanza for sex workers when farmers get tea bonuses.
Most bar and lodgings attendants said ‘new tourists’ are in town, many wearing skimply, provocative clothes.
Othaya prostitutes have warned competitors to stick to their own turf.
“Why
do they come here only when there is a bonus? They should let those of
us who have hustled here all year to work in peace,” a commercial sex
worker who sought anonymity said.
They complained men will be
attracted to any newcomers because they ‘always like to change their
diet’ and say variety is the spice of life.
Local women have started booking hotel rooms to lock out newcomers.
Othaya police boss Joseph Mwika urged the commercial sex workers to lodge their complaints with police.
Prostitution is illegal in Kenya but often overlooked.
