Kenya: The Night Side of Migingo

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Samuel Otieno

17 June 2011

opinion

Migingo also called Bugingo or Ugingo is a tiny 4,000-square-metre (one-acre) island, about the size of a football pitch in Lake Victoria. Despite its little size, it has been a bone of contention between the Kenyan and Ugandan governments after both countries claimed ownership in 2008-2009.

Behind the wars and the counter accusations, Migingo residents have a little known secret. Soon as night falls, the darkness hides their differences and reveals a group of people drawn together by passion, love and lies that transcends any ethnic or regional boundaries.

Once an abandoned Island, Migingo has developed into a thriving settlement fuelled by fish, money and sex with no church, school, dispensary and toilets.

Migingo is located a few kilometers from the Ugandan side of Lake Victoria, is occupied by traders who have mastered several local languages in order to efficiently steer through business and the related transgression.

The Island’s population mainly made of men; sees the few women available have the upper hand. In Migingo Island no one woman belongs to any man. A man’s value is dependant on the size of his pocket. His ability to get a date depends on his current financial status not his seduction prowess.

My drive to Migingo begins with a five hour from Kisumu town to Nyandiwa beach where the boats to Migingo are docked. I am bundled in a boat alongside fish traders, fishermen and their wares for three hours straight. As we arrive near the Island, we notice the presence of Ugandan Policemen on the look out for strange boats, “Do not worry the policemen will not harm you if we are with you”, our driver assures me as I take pictures. Their assurance is short lived as I have to go through a rigorous security check and I am detained until I state my reasons for visiting. I am then given an escort; a Ugandan Police Officer to monitor me and what pictures I take.

He proves invaluable as he knows the island like the back of his hand. One thing I notice about Migingo is the fact that during the day, the rule of law applies, however when night falls, its no man’s land. Thugs, prostitutes and policemen alike, drink from the same cup.

We toured a number of spots but one particular one the East African Pub proved most popular. There the music never stops and Mututho’s law is but a myth.

Maria Nantongo the proprietor of the pub looks at every customer keenly and once you have exhausted your money, she orders you out. The Luos in the area have nicknamed the club Asayi, a Luo word meaning to beg. The name stems from a joke that the men have to beg the women to let them leave the club before all their money runs out. “When you have the money, you get the fish. If you are a fisherman, you can decide to sell your fish for sex or for cash or even give it to your lover.” explains Juma Mbori, the Migingo beach management unit chairman.

According to Paul Odhiambo a local fisherman who operates boats in the Island, fishermen who get paid on the daily from boat owners, share and discuss women openly. Sometimes they even place bets to see who will be able to land the girl. “You can hear these men arguing on their prowess to take a girl. They even bet against one another on who will take the woman”, says Odhiambo.

Odhiambo says, at night, the animosity exhibited between people from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya is thrown to the window as Kenyans will seek help from a Ugandan man to get a Ugandan woman and vice versa. “If we could be living this way even during the day, all could be well, but when the sun rises, everybody goes back to his country and nepotism takes the order, at night nobody will know the country of origin as people sit and sips beer in rounds.”

Juma Mbori reiterates Odhiambo’s sentiments saying, “When the day breaks, people resort to normal activities but after some hours, women who will spend the rest of the morning sleeping will emerge by the shores. They come to get fish from their lovers who spent the night fishing and it’s is there that they normally strike evening deals.”

As we leave East African Pub, my escort Job Mkwezi gives his insight on the baffling Migingo, “Here our main leisure is drinking and women. When the fishermen come from the lake with nets full of fish, spending shs.10, 000 per day is not a big deal. It is leisure in unity.”

Our next stop is a bar playing Ohangla music. It’s not as busy as the last pub and we join a group of police officers in the table. As newbies we attract the attention of some female waiters and I ask them how much they make off their trade. “Payment here is a dream, here we are not paid. You only get your share according to your how well you can entertain customers, if a man enjoys your services he might add you some more money on top of the agreed amount”, says one of them Alice Namusachi.

The ladies have mastered the art of extracting as much money as possible from the men with pledges and doing domestic chores for them. On average it one woman per three men.

Recently two Kenyan fishermen were sent home by Ugandan police officers manning the island after fighting with one of the police officers over a woman. Protective sex is a thing of the past, the girls reveal that some of them have no hope in life and will only use protection if the customers want to. “In most cases we depend on the condoms from the man, if he doesn’t have he can purchase from the counter but that will depend on our agreement. To sleep with a man without protection is more expensive than using protection because if one is infected then the risk should be catered for,” shares Alice.

One of the fishermen Jack Oduor confesses that prostitution is a big problem in the area due to large number of women migrating into the lake shore in the guise of trading while in the real sense engaging in prostitution. “When the fishermen return home, they have money and a woman to entertain them after a hard work. You take her at whatever cost, with money you can buy anything you want,” says Jack.

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