Written by Alice Njoki.
Maai Mahiu, Kenya A hidden and troubling world of child exploitation has been uncovered in Maai Mahiu, a busy transit town in Kenya’s Rift Valley. Trucks and lorries roll through the town day and night, carrying goods to neighboring countries such as Uganda, Rwanda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Yet behind this bustling transport hub lies a dark secret , children as young as 13 are being forced into prostitution.
A BBC Africa Eye investigation sent two undercover reporters posing as aspiring sex workers aiming to become “madams” women who control and profit from girls working in prostitution. Over several months, secret filming revealed women openly admitting to involving underage girls in the illegal sex trade, despite knowing it breaks Kenyan law.
One woman, calling herself Nyambura, laughed as she said, “They’re still children, so it’s easy to manipulate them by just handing them sweets.” She said prostitution is a “cash crop” in Maai Mahiu, stating openly that she had girls as young as 13 working for her, some for over six months. Because the girls are minors, she described needing to move them in secrecy at night to avoid police detection.
Another madam, Cheptoo, showed investigators where her girls stayed and revealed that the youngest was just 13 years old. She explained that for every 3,000 Kenyan shillings , she earned 2,500 shillings from the girls. One underage girl told the investigator she had sex with an average of five men daily. When asked about refusing sex without a condom, the girl said she had no choice, fearing being chased away and having nowhere else to go.
The town of Maai Mahiu, with roughly 50,000 residents, is notorious for prostitution but also a hotspot for child sexual abuse. While the national law in Kenya criminalizes living off the earnings of prostitution and trafficking minors, prostitution itself is not explicitly banned in Maai Mahiu due to local legal gaps.
The BBC gave all the evidence including secret footage and interviews with victims to Kenyan police in March. However, reported arrests have not been made, and investigators say the madams have since moved locations. Police also explained that convicting offenders is difficult because vulnerable children often fear testifying.
Compounding the crisis, many children exploited in Maai Mahiu come from broken families, abuse, and neglect. A former sex worker known as “Baby Girl,” who spent 40 years in the trade herself, now runs a refuge for girls who escaped sexual abuse. She provides shelter, education in skills such as photography and beauty therapy, and helps them recover from trauma.
Baby Girl’s outreach efforts include condom distribution and HIV awareness education, critical in a county with one of Kenya’s highest HIV rates. But with recent funding cuts from US aid programs, her support services face serious uncertainty.
This investigation reveals the urgent need to protect children in Maai Mahiu and across Kenya, calling for stronger law enforcement, community support, and sustained funding for rehabilitation programs. It exposes a complex and shadowy world where many adults, both men and women, profit from the exploitation of innocent children trapped on a dangerous path in the shadows of a busy trucking town.