The Harsh World of “Night Shifts”

The Harsh World “Night Shifts”

By Andrew Mayende

It was a Wednesday evening after breaking from work when my two long lost friends, David and Derrick called me. David sounded upbeat and very eager to meet me after many months of being away from the city, all in the name of working hard to build the nation. I quickly signed out of office and headed to the nearest bus stage. Within split seconds, a booming matatu came by and skidded to a halt. With a few people who were also waiting for a matatu, we boarded the well maintained machine through traffic jams all the way to town.

My two friends had informed me that I would find them on one of the benches in town relaxing and chatting as they waited for me. No sooner had the matatu arrived in town than I alighted and straight on went to meet my long lost buddies. In our usual Nairobi swag we greeted each other, talked briefly about the many trials and tribulations that life is made of, the few triumphs along the way and ultimately the grim reality that in life you will not always get what you want. We talked about how far our careers have progressed or retrogressed depending on which side one is, we talked about matters family and the challenges that the modern times pose to the establishment of solid unions.

So much said and done, Derrick suggested that we head to the Champions Club for some soft and hard drink servings, all these under the cushion of well tailored musical collection from the resident DJ and a generous supply of twilight girls hovering all over in search for their night’s kill. As is my norm, I always go the soft way, my two friends had over time gathered humongous appetites for hard drinks. Yes, they had their way to generous servings as we passed time away. Great tunes filled the air right from Oliver Mtukudzi’sTodi to Sam Mangwana’sFatimata all the way to Madilu System’s RTC Riva. Those who felt flexible enough joined the dance floor and briskly danced to the beats, mingled with each other and occasionally exchanged sweet nothing s in each other’s ears.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beer holder! This is a phrase I came to learn so well in that setting. Men would come in looking very calm and collected, one too many after several hours down the line, you would spot these men’s eyes hoovering around for any female folk to keep them company. From company, as I came to learn, a few more drinks would follow and later on a ride to some undisclosed place for sex! Mmmmh! Sex! Damn sex for money.

With my soft drinks, I was fully sober to notice the glances from curious commercial sex workers who winked and made suggestive glances towards me. All this is done as a strategy to woo prospective clients for a “symbiotic contractual agreement- you get what you want and she gets what she wants! I could notice that these women, save for a few, were well groomed, well perfumed and had perfected the art of faking class and elegance. The funny thing is that you would notice many of them with only one drink on their tables!

Out of curiosity I called out one of the ladies who sat at a solitary corner sipping her drink as she tried to catch a glimpse of something on her phone. Occasionally she would pull out a cigarette and like a seasoned smoker, pull out her lighter and get herself “smoked out”. The lady had a nice purple dress, black quality high heels, a functional and quality wrist watch, a leather clutch bag and a well structured smile. Yes, an appetizing and well structured smile. This is the kind of smile that would send a seasoned man straight to the ATM or a bogus man straight to loan apps!

Kwani iko nini!!!? I silently said this to myself and beckoned her to come to my table for a generous serving of drinks. She obliged, possibly in her mind saying that on this occasion she had gotten a “fat sober client for the night!” In my mind all I wanted to do some chit chat, get her a few drinks and later on jump into the next vehicle to my humble aboard for a generous serving of heavy sleep.

“Hi, have a seat” I said to her as I marveled at the kind of natural beauty that she was. On close observation I noticed that she had a dimple and a gap in her teeth. What a spectacle of beauty! Her strong perfume oozed elegance and I could outrightly tell that she was one of the “poorly cultured prostitutes who could take any bargain in exchange for that!!” “My name is Andrew, what’s yours?” “Mmmmhh….I”m Antonina but my pals call me Tosh.”

Tosh is the kind of woman you would be curious to know what drove her all the way to selling her flesh for a living. IN that curiosity I patiently asked Tosh about how she found herself in that trade and what she feels about it. From nowhere I saw tears freely flowing down her cheeks as she fruitlessly tried to compose herself. It seemed there was so much more than meets the eye.

Tosh explained to me that at the age of 17 years, she got pregnant on her sexual debut! After this, the young boy responsible for her tribulations refused to live up to impending responsibilities. This sorry state got her step father so angry that he chased her away from home together with her mother. Her mother had gotten married with her and until this day, she has never met her biological father whom it was alleged that he passed on when she was still days old. With nowhere to run to, she set off to Nairobi to stay with an old friend.

This is where her twilight life started. Her friend was patient with her until after delivery then openly informed her that she would have to work for a living like other women! She nursed her child for a couple of months and later, through her aunt’s request, took the kid to stay with her (aunt). On returning to the city, there was no turning back. She said that on her initiation night she got a client who paid her KES 15000. This huge amount is what, in her own words, contributed to her picking up of the trade! She went on to explain to me that so far she has lost count of how many men she had slept with but they were possibly more than one hundred in 4 years!

With all the risks involved, Tosh was bold enough to explain that she was not worried of pregnancy since she was on Norplant for 5 years. Regarding the deadly AIDS pandemic, she said that she always insists on her “clients” using condoms. This however, as she rightly put it, was no guarantee sine at times condoms burst leaving her exposed. She explained that through awareness, she currently uses PEP incase of any exposure to a deadly situation.

Tosh went on to explain that since she had no education, there was nothing she could do yet she had bills to pay and a kid to take care of! As she explained all this, tears rolled down her cheeks as she uncontrollably tried to conceal that sorry state from her friends who  moved left, right and centre in search for “thirsty men”. She told me that her deepest desire was to one day quit from that kind of life, find a stable and constructive economic activity and possibly find a good man who will love and cherish her despite her queer story.

I was left pondering about how life turns out for different people. Some are born princes, some struggle almost all their lives. One important lesson that I learnt was that one should never be judgemental! Only the wearer of the shoes knows where it hurts. Always listen to the story behind the face………and ultimately lend a hand if possible!