Demand for male prostitutes in the city has shot up compared to that of female sex workers.
Our investigations on city streets have also established that some cops and high-profile figures are involved in the business.
The male sex workers, popularly known as makuchu, walk in groups along city streets— some line up with female sex workers for clients.
Away from the streets, those who don’t want to be seen outside hunting for clients have identified specific clubs in the city centre.
When we arrived at a popular joint on Tsavo Road on a Wednesday afternoon, our source who happens to be a homosexual and operates as a sex worker, pointed out a cop who was already entertaining two male sex workers with drinks before leaving for ‘the act’ at a nearby lodging.
“He is a regular client here, but he pays well. I’ve slept with him more than three times. He is a gentleman, though he can sleep with three different men in a day when he visits. The last time he paid me Sh5,000 for the whole afternoon,” claims Jack, our source.
Jack, a father of one, has been in the business for more than six years now. He said that he left his home in Narok in search of greener pastures in Nairobi.
“Even before coming to the city, I was already into it. A friend of mine introduced me to homosexuality,” revealed Jack.
Though Jack claims to have parted ways with his wife following a small misunderstanding, she (wife) has never found out that he is a male prostitute.
“Even my family members are not sure what I do for a living. But not long ago, my brother told me I walked and behaved like a gay— I told him to let me be to lead my life,” he said.
Being in the business, Jack claims, has not changed him much because “I still love women.”
“We get more customers on the streets, but sometimes we fall into traps of cons, police officers and county askaris who besides extorting money also want to sleep with us.