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Linda Moraa, a corporate lady whose sense of decorum cannot allow her to share nude photos of herself having lungula on social media, became a victim of mafisichannel, an online group of members whose pastime involves posting porn videos of women they have slept with.
The four-month old group, whose logo has a hyena baring its fangs, has over 70,000 who receive an average of 50 nude pictures and up to 10 sex videos of Kenyan women, daily.
One such video featured Linda, who got a phone call while having chips and soda for lunch at an eatery near her Hurligham office on January 26. What the caller said on the other end of the line made her lose her appetite.
“Your videos are online, why take videos when having sex?” the caller enquired gleefully.
Moraa was too stunned to reply. The caller hanged up. It was one of endless calls, with one coming from a male workmate who asked her if she was a member of mafisichannel.
Moraa said no, and the colleague explained that mafisichannel was a group on messaging application, Telegram, and its main purpose was to share videos and pictures of Kenyans having sex.
Her sex videos had just been shared on the platform.
“I was not very concerned. I had never taken a video of myself having sex, so I guessed it must have been someone who looks like me in the videos,” Moraa told The Nairobian.
But upon returning to her work station, a friend pulled her to the ladies where she played the two videos, one lasting one minute, 33 seconds and the second running for two minutes, 12 seconds.
The videos clearly showed a man on his back with Moraa riding him cowgirl style. The dude was puffing a cigarette as Moraa gyrated her hips in circular motion. Moraa’s face was clearly visible, her perky breasts bouncing up and down her aroused body.
“I immediately knew it was me, because where the video was taken looked very familiar. It was my boyfriend’s bedroom, but I could not remember him taking any videos,” admitted Moraa as she broke into tears.
She added that, “I switched off my phone because I was getting calls, even from family members. I tried calling my boyfriend but his phone was off. I knew he was the one who had leaked the videos after we broke up.”
Mafisichannel is found on messaging service, Telegram, which like WhatsApp, allows users to share messages, photos, videos, stickers and audio files. Telegram, which has 100 million monthly active users who send 15 billion messages per day, is available as a free download app.
Anyone can create a group and send the address to anyone with the application. If anyone clicks on the link, he or she becomes a member.
Moraa’s video is one of over 2,500 videos and pictures on mafisichannel on Telegram showing Kenyan women either naked or having lungula.
Another victim of mafisichannel, who refused to be named, says a ‘jealous wife’ of her ex-boyfriend, found her nude pictures in his phone and sent them to the group, alongside her name, phone number and social media pages.
Her husband, whom she had lived with for less than a year, threw her out.
“My ex-boyfriend took those pictures when we were still in a relationship. We later broke up, he got married and I also got married. But he never deleted the pictures and his wife sent them to the mafisi group.
My husband never wanted to hear my side of the story. My marriage ended that very day,” laments the victim.
The Nairobian reached out to seven married women who were exposed and one victim posed; “When your husband sees your naked pictures, and he isn’t the one who took them or posted them, what do you expect him to do? But why would a grown-up send nude pictures to someone, or agree to have a video taken while having sex?
Dr Lukoye Atwoli, the dean at Moi University School of Medicine, says the trend of sending nude pictures and explicit videos is ‘normal,’ given that people are nowadays curious about the private lives of other people.
“The internet, and a group like mafisichannel have just provided avenues for people to satisfy some inner curiosity,” says the psychiatrist, adding that curiosity is normal, but when it becomes compulsive, especially in sexual matters, then medically, the condition is termed as voyeurism.
“When this becomes the only way a man or woman can get sexual gratification, then it’s time to seek help. People with such conditions are the ones who provide a market, as well as the content, for groups like mafisichannel,” says Atwoli.
Image consultant Robert Burale says a man’s desire to connect is inborn, and our daily interactions with others is usually physically disconnected, so sending a nude picture, or making a video when having sex, makes people feel more connected.
Burale says that, “Man gets sense of self-worth from being valued and seen, literally and figuratively. Sending a nude picture makes someone feel safe that they can trust you with their secret. But such type of communication actually alienates you more from your loved one. The best type of communication and expressing love is face to face.”
