Relatively new to Kenya, strip clubs are on the rise. Some cite urbanization, Internet advertising and international pressure for their advent. Seven years ago, strip clubs were unheard of in downtown Nairobi, says Chris Hart, a psychologist. Now, patrons and managers estimate there to be 10 public strip clubs and 20 private clubs, or houses rented for private parties.
Strip clubs are illegal in Kenya. The owners evade that law by registering them as bars. "Our hands are tied," Ngugi says. Police occasionally raid strip clubs, but, without legislation, procedures are unregulated.
Eric Kiraithe, Kenya police spokesperson, says stripping needs clearer regulations, as the Kenyan penal code doesn’t differentiate between strippers and prostitutes. He says the Kenya Tourist Board should work with local authorities to create a red-light district.
Nairobi, Kenya. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Inside Nairobi's Strip Clubs
On a Saturday, a 6-inch glass heel pierces the air at the Pango F3 club. The disc jockey plays international hits and the spotlight focuses on Norah, a stripper, who climbs the pole and whips her long weave around as she slides down it. She lands on her head and gyrates upside down.
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Not far from Pango F3 is a competing strip club, Liddos. The strippers dance on the pole and give lap dances to the predominantly male crowd. Bhavesh and other clients say they discovered Kenya’s strip clubs online.
The 10 dancers work six nights a week, plus have daily aerobics sessions and dance rehearsals, says Sabrina, the dancers’ supervisor and trainer, while monitoring them from the back of the club.
Economic Factors and the Dancers' Lives
Hart says strip clubs attract dancers because of the high income. Katana says a stripper’s average income in Nairobi is 10,000 shillings ($120 USD) a month-almost double Kenya’s monthly per capita income. "You smile not because you enjoy yourself," she says.
"When they come to Kenya to perform, they also look for their own entertainment," he says.
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Legal Gray Areas
Yet because it’s a new phenomenon, no clear laws governing stripping are on the books. The police whisked the patrons and dancers to the police station.
TOP KENYAN CELEBRITIES WHO OWN POPULAR STRIP CLUBS AND NIGHTCLUBS IN NAIROBI
Perspectives
Rose Odengo describes herself as a benefactor of African oral tradition. She is passionate about writing stories of Africa in order to empower disadvantaged African women in hopes of restoring their dignity to make Africa a glorious, proud, prosperous and beautiful continent.
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