The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi

The world's oldest profession helped Nairobi during its nascent years maintain labor force by providing companionship to the burgeoning bachelor migrant labour. In doing so, they accumulated wealth and became the first African landlords in colonial Nairobi. The African neighborhoods (estates) in Nairobi were largely shaped by prostitute activities - Pangani, Kilileshwa, Pumwani and Shauri Moyo were setup to accommodate the demands of landlord prostitutes who were providing services that reproduced labor for the colonial government.

Over the years, different forms of prostitution emerged to accommodate changing landscape, economics and population of the young city. The most successful of the prostitutes became a lady in her forties living in Eastleigh who bought a secondhand Mercedes-Benz in 1960.