Kenyans Who Wish That The Mombasa Marathon Did Not Exist

The coastal town of Mombasa has been honored by hosting the world cross country championships that takes place next month and it has already undergone a 'major face lift' ahead of the event.

Prostitutes, beggars and the homeless have been cleared from the city streets in a most brutal manner that has provided fodder for the TV stations as images of scantily clad women, men dressed like women and beggars being tossed into council lorries late at night or shortly before dawn.

This move has drawn criticism from many quarters with some arguing that the issues of commercial sex workers and destitutes needs a long term solution and not a short one as they will return to the streets after being convicted in court.

A councilor was on Saturday seen on TV differing with the council security men conducting the swoop and told them the women were simply trying to eke out a living and put a meal on the table and treating them inhumanly like violent criminals was unwarranted.

The calls fell on deaf ears as the security men zealously went about the operation which was degrading and humiliating as women with micro miniskirts sat down with their legs apart in an attempt to resist arrest but were roughed up and tossed into the lorries parked in strategic corners and inter sections of the town.

It is a well known fact that many tourists come to Kenya for sex holidays and use the sun, sand and wildlife as an excuse of visiting the country but sadly some of them also engage in sex with minors as young as 12 years old.

This is part of the reason why Mombasa is always filled with commercial sex workers at night and if the championships were not to be staged there, the authorities would not be conducting the swoops which have increased in frequency as the date of the competition nears.

What happens, the arrested women are paraded in court and charged with loitering with immoral intentions, which is a petty offence punishable by a fine or a few weeks in prison in default. More often than not, the women pay the fines or are bailed out by their colleagues and no sooner are they released, they return to the streets.

The homeless and vagrants could be sent to homes from which they escape after a while and return to the same streets to scavenge which they find more tolerable than staying in those institutions which are usually overcrowded and in dilapidated conditions.

If there are people who wished the international championships should have never been brought to Mombasa, they could be these nocturnal humans but again, they also stand to benefit the most as coaches, trainers and also athletes from the world over who wish to quench their sexual lust in the coastal town which is getting increasingly popular with perverts, could have 'the time of their lives' in Kenya.

But there is another group of honest small scale entrepreneurs and petty traders who were instructed by the authorities to shut down their businesses for the period leading up to the Marathon and a day or two beyond. The Marathon will take place on 24th March this year. The period when they will be shut for business represented over two full months. Now how are these people expected to earn a livelihood? Yet another example of the insensitivity that authorities in Kenya have had for a long time now.

Exlusive: Kumekucha Talks To John Troon About Ouko Murder Evidence