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Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.
American singer and songwriter Donna Summer captures the description of these ladies, who, for different reasons, find themselves in the streets doing what many people publicly detest.
"They call her the lady of the night. She's a woman of the world and an easy-living girl with love for sale. That's what they call her, the lady of the night," reads the lyrics of Summer's song Lady of the Night.
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Owing to the fact that many people, whether in political or religious spheres, distance themselves from these women, few, if any, individuals care to reach out to them unless for personal gains disguised as business.
In Kenya, there's a debate on whether engaging in prostitution is a criminal offence or not.
Chief Justice Martha Koome, through the Committee on Administration of Justice, which she chairs, made proposals to amend the laws that make the activity punishable by custodial sentences.
She pushed the proposals through the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2023.
Sections 153, 154, and 155 of the Penal Code, which she sought to repeal, outlaw male and female prostitution and the operating of brothels or houses where the activity is done. These laws still allow custodial sentencing, which Koome's proposals seek to eliminate.
As the legal systems work to harmonise the approach to prostitution, Nairobi politician and philanthropist Agnes Kagure believes in empowering the ladies of the night as a sure way of integrating them back into society and reducing cases of sexually transmitted diseases.
Citing her success story with the approach, Kagure praised a group of ladies who underwent an empowerment project she supports to attain independence from the streets and the frowned-upon business.
"Here's a throwback with reformed commercial sex workers who had grown tired of their everyday jobs and their problems and took the initiative to form a community organisation with other visionary partners to chart a path to a better and dignified future. Isn't that amazing?" She posed.
She told TUKO.co.ke how, together with other like-minded partners, she walked with the ladies in their rehabilitation journey.
"I was, and still am, very impressed with their level of commitment. I look forward to supporting more women in the risky trade to leave and embark on safer and more profitable income-generating activities," she said.
She explained that the women were trained in doing business and working as a team to save and emancipate themselves from dependency.
"The ladies willing to embrace freedom from the trade were trained on doing business and boosting their group savings. With this knowledge, they were able to expand their legitimate business and are now a testimony of hope to others still yearning to quit the trade," Kagure said.
She lauded the women for coming out of their comfort zones to embrace purposeful partnerships to improve their futures.
Koome's efforts, initially mistaken for legalising the trade, attracted fury from a section of the citizens, including clerics.
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Agnes Kagure (in the blue t-shirt) during an event with the reformed women
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