Two people accused of luring women into online prostitution have been charged with trafficking them for sexual exploitation.
Stella Syomiti Kingesi and Michael Ochieng Okwaro are accused of making two women interact with clients through a hook-up website which resulted in the two women getting involved in prostitution in their house in Kasarani, Nairobi.
Kingesi and Okwaro allegedly committed the offence on diverse dates between January 15 and February 27 this year at their house in Kasarani, Nairobi jointly with others at large.
They faced a second charge of conspiracy to commit a felony contrary to Section 393 of the Penal Code.
The court heard that one of the victims met Ms Kingesi in early January this year in Nairobi and they exchanged contacts.
The woman was looking for a job and requested Ms Kingesi to help her secure employment.
A few days later, the accused called the woman and told her that there was a job at StripChat that required one to have a national identity card only.
Kingesi even sent her bus fare to travel to her house, where the suspect told the victim that all that was needed was a laptop or smartphone and Wi-Fi to start the job.
The suspect reportedly created an account for the woman, who then went online and met a man who requested her to perform sexual acts.
On February 15 she was paid for her services and continued working but was locked in the house without permission to leave.
The complainant said she realized that other women were performing similar acts with the same sex toys after she contracted a sexually transmitted infection.
She later sent a message to an activist who alerted the police, leading to a raid at the house. Detectives rescued her together with another woman who was also detained in the house performing similar acts of online sex work.
Appearing before Principal Magistrate Lewis Gatheru at the Makadara Law Courts, Kingesi and Okwaro denied the charges.
The court released them on a bond of Sh100,000.
The case will be mentioned on March 16. The hearing starts on July 27, 2023.
