The Kenyan government is under renewed pressure to act decisively after a BBC Africa Eye investigation exposed the trafficking and sexual exploitation of girls as young as 13 in Maai Mahiu, a busy transit town in Nakuru County.
The investigation, titled Madams: Exposing Kenya’s Child Sex Trade, revealed how local women, known as madams, recruit underage girls into the sex trade along one of East Africa’s key transport corridors. The BBC deployed two undercover journalists posing as aspiring madams, who filmed women admitting they knowingly trafficked children for sex.
Secret footage captured madams introducing the undercover team to minors already in the trade. Despite handing over this evidence to police in March, the BBC says no arrests have been made, and those filmed may have relocated. Authorities told the broadcaster that the women and girls seen in the footage could not be traced.
In a press statement, the National Police Service said it had launched a multi-agency investigation and deployed officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit to Maai Mahiu. Statements have been recorded from three individuals, and children are being identified for rescue and support. The police also cited difficulties in securing convictions without testimonies from minors, many of whom are afraid to come forward.
The NPS has called on the public to provide any information about the criminal network through confidential hotlines and promised anonymity for whistleblowers. Meanwhile, a specialised cybercrime unit is working to tackle online child exploitation, linking with international partners including INTERPOL.
Rights groups and child welfare advocates have urged the government to increase protection for child witnesses and move swiftly to dismantle trafficking networks that thrive in silence.
