As next year’s General Election draws closer, politicians are making all kinds of promises in order to get votes. Earlier this week, Deputy President William Ruto gave out the Sh1 million to fulfil an earlier pledge he made to sex workers in Mtito Andei.
The money, he said, would help the women switch to other trades, a move that elicited huge debate among Kenyans on various platforms. And now, some politicians have shown interest in supporting the “night nurses”, if elected to office.
However, Kenya Sex Workers Alliance (KESWA) leader Fellister Abdalla said the promises come with advantages and disadvantages.
“If it really happens, it is of benefit to us, but in most cases, politicians make roadside declarations without engaging us through existing structures and what they want to do,” said Abdalla.
“They should come through our movement and tell us what they want because gone are the days when roadside promises were made. They should table what they want to do for us and even find out what the members want,” she said.
She said that at the moment, they have about 380,000 members who are making a living out of that business. That, she said, could be the reason politicians were scrambling for them in broad daylight.
“We have many numbers and they know that. The only problem is that they are not using the right channels; they should meet us and table their proposals,” she said.
Abdalla said that in some cases, when politicians talk about sex workers at rallies, they become target of harassment by the police and other authorities.
“The promises also come with another disadvantage: When politicians make sex workers a point of discussion, they become a target and their operation spots are exposed and sometimes get attacked,” she said.
She added: “When we are quiet, no one bothers about us. When politicians can come through the right channels before making those announcements, that would be better. For now, our business is seen as illegal and even our income is criminalised.”
