NINE Kenyan women aged between 20-24 were on Sunday night arrested for stripping after police invaded a club in Mtwapa. The Kenyan-born German proprietor of the Bahnhof Bar and Restaurant, Ian Huthson, was also arrested during the swoop. The women were arrested at around 11pm while entertaining revellers at the club. “The bar is just beside the road and has no privacy. Even passersby can see what is happening inside.
There are no measures to verify the age of those entering the bar. Even underage girls are allowed,” said Kilifi police boss Clement Wangai. The arrest followed a public outcry and complaints of rampant indecent acts at the club situated on the Mombasa-Malindi highway. The proprietor and the nine women were arraigned in a Shanzu law court and charged with exploitation of prostitution. Huthson denied the charges before senior resident magistrate James Obura and was remanded at Shimo la Tewa.
Chief prosecutor Paul Makonge requested the court to allow him more time to conduct investigations. The nine women Wanjiru Kamau, Mwanajuma Hamis, Silver Otieno, Immaculate Koni , Sofia Mustafa, Ann Wangari, Samatha Hassan, Stephan Maina and Veronica Ogalu pleaded guilty to public exhibition of indecent show.
The bar risks losing its license if an order placed by the Kilifi county commissioner Erastus Ekidor succeeds. In his Madaraka day address, Ekidor had ordered a crackdown on all strip clubs and their licenses withdrawn for engaging in indecent activities. Kilifi county women representative Esha Karisa had raised concern over the rising number of clubs and vowed to crack the whip on them for bringing shame to the county.
Esha had complained that the trend was rife in Mtwapa and challenged police to stop the acts. Other towns in the spotlight are Watamu and Malindi. Religious leaders and women associations in Mtwapa held protests demanding the closure of night clubs showing obscene acts that have tarnished the name of Mtwapa and ruined lives of many youths.