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Welcome to Ki-Mombasa

The Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa is a popular tourist destination where fun seeking revealers go to enjoy sun, sand, sea and sex. Mombasa is Kenya’s sincity and the coastal town is synonymous with sex, drugs and black magic. “Kuingia ni raha kutoka ni matanga” is a popular Swahili phrase which summarizes life in Mombasa.

Located Some 1,137.9 km away from Mombasa about four miles north of Kampala on Bombo Road in Bwaise, sits a small humble slum that shares a few characteristics with Kenya’s Mombasa.

Also Read: Men wearing veils are roaming the streets of Mombasa masquerading as prostitutes

Even the name is oddly similar and the place is called KiMombasa. It was reportedly named after the Kenyan town of Mombasa town due to sex workers who came from there.

”In 1971 a group of sex workers who were operating in Mombasa Kenya retired and decided to relocate  in this place.They had a lot of money and put up some buildings.They started recruiting young women into sex trade.” Abel Kikandwa, a local leader said.

Ki-Mombasa, ‘the capital city of prostitution’

According to New Vision, in early 1960s, the place which was a wetland until the late 1950s, attracted two sex workers, Kasifa and Nakawunde, who often travelled to Mombasa for commercial sex before returning “with lots of money”.

With the “wealth” from prostitution, the duo managed to construct several mud-and-wattle houses and became celebrities across Bwaise. With time the two slowly recruited the local girls into the flesh trade which has thieved ever since.

Today, Ki-Mombasa has the biggest number of brothels in Kampala. Kikandwa estimates that there are over 30 brothels in Bwaise with each containing over 50 sex workers some as young as 15 years.

Apart from the presence of sex workers on virtually every corner, Ki-Mombasa is full of filth. The area has no public pit latrine and residents resort to flying toilets to dispose human waste. Ki-Mombasa has only one public tap where residents are charged sh100 for a 20-litre.

Despite its filth, Ki-Mombasa has remained a top destination for men seeking the services of sex workers. Hundreds frequent the slum daily to buy cheap sex workers. For as little as 2000 shillings, (slightly higher that half a US dollar) one can buy a sex worker in one of the numerous brothels.

Ki-Mombasa  also has a ‘capital city’ which the residents have nicknamed ‘Kenya’.

Up to now,  a few girls are still periodically sent to work as sex workers in Kenya’s town of Mombasa and when they get tired ,they come and sat operating.

One of the brothels boss who ever worked in Mombasa, Zuena Auma said,

” I worked as a sex worker in Mombasa for over 10 years and made a lot of money. I decided to retire and come here to operate a brothel. We have all types of sex workers including those below 20 years at affordable places.

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