Streetwise Nairobi drug peddlers disguised as commercial sex workers
It’s 9 o’clock at night. A group of street urchins are walking along Duruma Road within Nairobi’s CBD before they take various positions at a stretch.
Seated with their sacks beside them, the group chats in whispers as they watch vehicles pass by.
DRUG PEDDLER
A few minutes later, a lady, famously known as Daz, walks towards the group and takes her position among the group. She remains standing.
One by one, the group walks towards her. She fishes out something hidden deep inside her bra and gives the street urchins who later go back to their positions.
They then pour the substance on their hands and take out smaller pipes and start puffing the substance.
“This is what usually happens here on a daily basis, be it during the day and at night,” our fixer tells us as we walk further down the street.
According to our fixer, the police never conduct patrols on the street which remains lively during at night.
As we stroll down the street, another well-dressed man shows up and has a conversation with Daz. She hands him the substance.
The man walks away quickly but Daz maintains her position.
SEX WORKERS
Nairobi News has established that the woman in question is among several drug peddlers on the streets of Nairobi, while posing as commercial sex workers.
Harrison (not his real name) who is a streets trolley pusher says the lady is a common figure on the street and a great friend of the urchins.
He says he has been seeing the woman doing here business for close to three years now.
“Before her there was another woman who used to do the same business. This is why the number of street urchins who sleep along this street has increased,” he explained.
Erastus (not his real name) who is a guard at one of the building along the street says for the two year that he has been stationed on that street, he has never seen a police officer patrolling at night.
He says many commercial sex workers usually use the street as their hideout to avoid being arrested.
“I don’t know why people say Koinange Street has many commercial sex workers. Just visit this place at night whenever we have an operation in town and you will not believe it,” Erastus says.
‘SAFE’ STREET
Surprisingly, despite all the evils that go on along the street, Erastus and Harrison say that it is one of the safest a downtown Nairobi.
They say that as much as police officers don’t frequent the street, it remains safe and that they have never witnessed any robbery.
“On my first day here, I feared for the worst. But four years later, I’m just okay. I have also never witnessed any kind of insecurity issues here,” Harrison says.
When the Nairobi News team visited the stretch, commercial sex workers were also busy as they tried to attract their customers.
In their own words, most commercial sex workers don’t mind where the ‘action’ takes place, as long as they get paid.
“If the client is wiling to pay for a room, we usually accept it. It a favour for us because we stay warm in the rooms. Other customers, though, prefer doing it in dark corners,” says Keziah, one of the commercial sex workers we spoke to.
She also revealed that at times the street urchins patronize their services.