Fredrick Opiyo, a frequent reveller in Kisumu's high end clubs said he learnt his lesson the hard way, reason he always tags a bouncer along. The incident happened when he had gone to Janam club with two female friends in 2019.
"A group of two men came out of nowhere and demanded that my female friends join them at their table. When I resisted, they assaulted me and dragged one of my female friends to their car," he said.
Opiyo told The Nairobian that he would have been in deep trouble had the club's bouncers not come to his rescue."I always hire bouncers or tip the club's bouncers to take care of my security," he said.
A club DJ who asked for anonymity said for the last five years he has been in the industry, he has witnessed a series of fights and destruction of property in the clubs he has worked for in Kisumu. Most of the fights that erupt at the club he works for usually involve love triangles or a bitter ex who refuses to move on, he said.He recalled an incident where two men got into a nasty brawl as the object of their desire took to their heels.
Brawling over women
"Upon trying to intervene to stop them from destroying club property, I found out they were both being cheated on by the lady with yet another man," he said.He let on that men who brawl over women end up being forced to pay for destroying club property and once bitten, they henceforth pay bouncers to take care of their security.Mercy Awino, a waitress in one of the oldest clubs in Kisumu said she witnesses wives following their husbands to the clubs which normally end in fights between the wives and their husband's side women.
She said some of the side women are usually aware and know the wives but don't care if they are caught in the affairs for as long as their lives are financed. Awino recalls a 2021 incident when a Luo MP's wife hired goons to beat up her husband's 'side piece' at the pub where she worked.
"She would come in whenever her husband's girlfriend came in. She did so for a few weeks. I later came to find out the lady was beaten up," she said.Alphonse Odhiambo, a bouncer, told The Nairobian that he always gets a job to protect a client from Thursday to Sunday and admits that the job is sometimes risky.
"There are times we work in groups to protect our clients and their women. Some clients pay handsomely for our services but we do not charge our closest friends," he said.
According to the bouncer, the charges range from Sh1000 to up to Sh30,000, depending on the client."Some clients even pay Sh100,000. We ensure that they get seats in clubs and also work with club bouncers to prepare for them seating places whenever they opt to club-hop," he explains.
Some fights lead to deaths
Odhiambo told The Nairobian that there are cases where they have been forced to "discipline" some revellers for flirting with their bosses' women.In the lakeside town, fist-fights have been a common norm in a number of pubs. Some of the fights, however, has led to deaths.
Early this year, Clement Ochola, popularly known as Clemo, the manager of Ohangla artist Emma Jalamo was stabbed to death at a night club in Kondele.Interviews with witnesses and police sources familiar with the investigations into his heinous killing established that the deceased was stabbed after a group of three people stormed club Quorum.
One of the attackers allegedly grabbed a knife from the counter and chased Clemo upstairs and stabbed him, moments after a group of three attackers stormed the premises.A renowned bouncer in the lakeside city was charged with his murder in a case that is still pending before court.