The forgotten Kambi Ya Malaya
The forgotten Kambi Ya Malaya
The forgotten Kambi Ya Malaya
Shortly after 1922 it became illegal for African women to live outside the newly built Pumwani or to walk after dark.
While the 7 pm t 6 am curfew was meant to curb crime and the 'Watembezi' kind of prostitution, its implementation was so lukewqrm that prostitution was seen as a way of life in majengo later on.
Interestingly, ploice took advantage of the curfew to demand sex as a bribe and thus failed to tame the prostitution.
While the sedentary form of prostitution thrived in the Majengo area, the Watembezi entered the streets after they were ''literally driven off the newly paved streets of the commercial areas'', according to Luise White book Comforts of Home. while the Malaya's operated both during the day and night and attracted the widest range of the labor force because of their secure neighbourhood, it was no wonder that in years to come women owned house and land.
As Nairobi economy started to boom in the mid 1920s women from the neighboring agricultural districts of Kiambu and limuru started to arrive in droves to first sell agricultural products but later decided to supplement their income with sin. Chief Kinyanjui was forced to ask local native council to take action against any married women who went to Nairobi to ostensibly sell cabbages ''but ended up prostituting themselves''
River road was and is still a dangerous district at night. And before men in cars mostly the wealthy could not fancy going into the dark river road with watembezi prostitutes andpioneered the ''pick and drop'' culture of morden day Koinange street. The operating area was then along government road, now Moi Avenue from where the prostitutes would dash to river road if they sighted the police. While prostitution was not outlawed in the early 1920s, solicitation was prohibited under a borrowed indian penal code.
Thus in the bushes and alleways of Pangani and corners of river roa area which was slowly sinking into a state of disrepair after world war 1. Rent for a room had by this time shot up to kshs 20 amonth.
In River road daring Europeans and Indians were on the rising from 25cents in 1914 to kshs 1.50 in prostitutes had significantly changed and records of 1923 census indicated that Kikuyus were the majority in the trade followed by the baganda, Nandi, Somalis and a handful of swahili (actually two)
While it was risky for Europeans to go to Majengo after dusk, River Road at least before 1927 was the preserve of employed Africans, Indians and daring Europeans.
But Majengo was also facing a new competition as a new neighborhood nicknamed Danguroni emerged south of Digo Road and adjacent to Nairobi River.
Danguroni became the new place for young prostitutes who paid kshs 10 for a room while a similar room cost eight shillings in Majengo by 1934.
The statics were also weird because 'short time' cost between two to three shilings while it was higher by 50cents at Danguroni. Taxis would for the first Europeans and Indians to Danguroni and later pick them. Danguroni changed the face of the prostitution in Nairobi and due to the riches exihibited by those women the number of rooms multiplied as the vice increased.
Later came the 'Wazi Wazi' form of prostitution where women would move with a chair outside the door and scout for men, Luise White claims the haya of Tanzania introduced it but it was perfected in Danguroni before it was mimicked in majengo.
This fact was highlighted in the famous Davis report of 1039, which looked at the problems a rising from hosing in African areas.
But with the rise of the Wazi Wazi form of prostitution the prices went as low as 50cents in 1937. This saw most of the prostitutes lose their own! one is quoted saying. '' i would walk up and down the streets, or i would stand at a corner, if a man asked me to go with him i would tell him that i had no place to go and we could go to his house....Sometimes we wouldn't and the we would go to the bushes.......
Wazi Wazi was simply a daytime short time affair that Ms White claims was kept going by the Luo men who were the majority at the Railways, the country's largest single employer.
''Luos paid most money with least trouble......(and) would leave right away''............says one interviwee. that the Luos kept Danguroni a live is well documented but the place was also dominated by Haya women who were not circumcised and did not unlike the Kikuyus discriminate against the uncircumcised Luos.
As such Danguroni was later Nicknamed Mji Wa Bukoba. and such structured prostitution in the African housing area, the early 1940s saw the emergence of juvenile prostitutes, 14 to 15 years old. ''Most of whom were Kikuyus,'' according to the Davis Report, which concluded that, this was as a result of housing problems.
Some of them ended up as landlords in East leigh and Ngara, especially during the soldier boom of the second world war, prices rose to kshs 30 for short time.
''Because the police did not bother us in the day time, we used to go government Road. We would meet white men while they were shopping. if you knew a bit of English it helped. When they liked you, you became rich.
With Eastleigh Royal Air Force Base completed in 1940, Majengo and the entire Danguroni were transformed economically. There was from then on no difference between Watembezi and malaya and Evident Denunciation on non- paying customers started.
Brothels stated to emerge in Eastleigh-initially built as an Indian residential area to serve the military personnel.
Shortly after the war, the Italian POW camps were also targets and saw the introduction of condoms for the first time and because of the language barrier, it was sign language that was used in negotiations.
In 1950s prostitutes would go to Pumwani memorial hall to hunt for customers after military men were banned from going with prostitutes. As the Mau Mau war broke out, some of wealthy Kikuyu prostitutes would be used in the war to lay traos for African Askaris, suffocating them to death, stealing their guns in tribal relations, classes relations and cuts across issues of labor and economy.
As it stands, Majengo is part of our history and we need not feel ashamed of it.
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