A 49-year-old Kenyan sex worker, Sarah Mutero, has retired from the trade after 23 years in which she said she serviced more than 28,000 men.
Mutero worked in Embu, Nairobi city centre, and Majengo area during her career. She said in her younger years she could see 20 or more clients a day, but later managed about four daily due to age, economic hardship, and competition. That averages roughly 100 clients a month over 23 years.
“It is not an easy thing to satisfying such a big number of men, some being ruthless, yet we end up poor. We earn peanuts that we can’t even save,” she said. “Everything I have earned in servicing needy men went to clothes, shelter and food for my children as well as education.”
After retiring, Mutero received a parcel of land worth Sh120,000 in Makuyu, Murang’a County. Some well-wishers have also pledged to pool funds to build her a house.
Stanley Ngara, known as the King of Condoms and head of a programme to retire sex workers humanely, said sex workers have played a key role in HIV prevention.
“Men will seek sex in all ways, but when it comes to sex workers it is a different game. They don’t accept intercourse without condoms however much men insist to pay more for unprotected sex,” Ngara said.
He noted that surveys showed seven out of 10 clients ask for unprotected sex, and five of those are willing to pay more. “If they accept such deals you can imagine how HIV/Aids can spread. We must appreciate them with a retirement package,” he said.
Mutero said she now hopes for a quieter life with her two sons and wants to set an example for older sex workers to retire respectfully.
