#BBCAfricaEye investigates how women known as “madams” have involved children in the sale of sex in Kenya.
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In the transit town of Maai Mahiu, in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, undercover reporters expose two women exploiting children for sex – one claiming to have a girl as young as 13 years old. In Kenya, laws are in place to protect minors under the age of 18 from such threats with strong penalties for offenders, including imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life.
The film also follows the work of a woman known as ‘Baby Girl’, who is on a mission to rescue, protect and empower girls escaping exploitation, towards a brighter future. Formerly a sex worker of 40 years, Baby Girl now supports her community in HIV prevention, assisted by US aid agency USAID. But as this funding comes to an end in Kenya, the future and security of those she helps protect is uncertain.
The BBC gave all its evidence to the Kenyan police in March 2025. The BBC believe the madams have moved location since then. The police said the madams and young girls we filmed could not be traced. To date there have been no arrests.
🚨 UPDATE 14/08/25: The BBC has defended its investigation into child sexual exploitation in Kenya, after the government described it as a “hoax”: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgnkdpl49ko
00:00 ‘She tells me she sells very young girls’
02:10 Undercover investigators befriend two ‘madams’
04:00 ‘Children are easy to manipulate with sweets’
04:29 Cheptoo: A madam of minors
05:38 ‘She is more than a mother’
06:29 Sharing traumas
14:23 Only 13 years old
18:22. “We’re in danger” – the impact of USAID cuts
20:42 “Clients force you to do unimaginable things”
21:53 An average of 5 men a day
23:45 Stolen dreams
24:26 Out of the darkness, into the light.
25:40 Reporting: Fear of reprisals
26:00 The Kenyan police have the evidence
🎥 Watch this film in SWAHILI here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBVJxPkH25o , in HAUSA here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAO0_YBcui4 and in FRENCH here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEh3CtNbyrk
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