Zim sex workers cause of sleepless nights in Botswana

FRANCISTOWN — Margaret Khumalo*, a sex worker at the low-income area of Itekeng or Area W, says she came to Botswana around 2007 after the economy in Zimbabwe descended into chaos.

The 27-year-old woman said lack of job opportunities back home forced her to move to Botswana to earn a living.

“To be frank, I don ‘t like what I am doing. Circumstances beyond my control forced me to do this. I have to support my family and two young children back home,” said Khumalo, whose face is worn from worry lines.

Khumalo ‘s Roman Catholic beliefs are brazenly at odds with her way of life. She is an illegal immigrant whose coming into Botswana was a big risk. “I grew up in a very religious family. I am not proud of what I am doing. But there is nothing I can do. I have to survive,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Khumalo said she and her colleagues normally charge P100 if the client does not use a condom, and P30 for a short time if a client uses protection.

She said their clients were different, adding that they even had some Indians who paid a lot of money for sex the whole night.

Interestingly, Khumalo said there were some residents of Itekeng, especially old women, who were always complaining about their trade at kgotla (community) meetings whenever an opportunity arose.

“Although what we are doing may be contrary to African cultural norms, Batswana should understand that we have to make a living and feed our families. “Some Batswana are also doing what we do, although we do it for money, while some Batswana women trade sex for alcohol,” said Khumalo.

Asked if it was true that some sex workers collected clients ‘ semen after sex for ritual purposes, Khumalo said: “I have read about that in newspapers, but I am not aware of any of my colleagues doing that.

“Our clients are free to take their used condoms for disposal if they think that we are selling their semen to traditional doctors”.

She stated that they sometimes face a challenge of some customers who do not want to pay for services rendered. “There are some who are disrespectful and sometimes threaten to beat us or report us to the police because they know that most of us do not have passports or work permits.

To counter this, sometimes we demand payment before sex,” said Khumalo.

The other challenge, Khumalo added, was police who periodically raid the places they rent and deport them to Zimbabwe.

“Some officers are in the habit of asking us for bribes to avoid deportation. In some circumstances, they demand free sex not to deport us. We have to give in to their demands because there is nothing we can do, lest we are deported,” said Khumalo, adding that though she was a prostitute by night, she is also a hairdresser by day.

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