ZAMBIA’S statute books are not categorical on the matter of prostitution even though the act remains illegal in the country.
Thus authorities do not and will never tolerate sex workers to continue conducting such acts. However, because of the nature of the offence, suspected prostitutes are simply remanded in police custody and later charged with idle and disorderly conduct.
The penalty is just a minimal fine, the famous admission of guilty, and the offender is released. As for the foreign nationals, they are sent back to the countries of their origin, especially if they do not have documents legalising their stay in Zambia.
These light penalties have contributed to the never-ending incidence of prostitution in which foreign sex workers have increasingly been the major players.
Previously, Zambia played host to foreign sex workers from mainly her northern neighbours. In one incident, more than 130 suspected prostitutes were apprehended – in one night – from various lodges and guest houses by police in Solwezi.
Not very long after this operation were reports from Livingstone that security wings had rounded up more than 70 sex workers from various lodges within the city, majority of whom came from Zambia’s southern neighbours.
This led to the Immigration Department sending 60 suspected Zimbabwean prostitutes back home following a raid, again, on some guest houses in Zambia’s tourist capital.
What is clear is that such incidents are no longer confined to border towns such as Livingstone, Kasumbalesa or Solwezi because foreign sex workers have equally been found doing business in the Midlands areas of Kabwe and Lusaka.
The illicit business goes on and is ‘supported’ by lodge and guest house owners who, as long as they are paid lodging, turn a blind eye to everything that happens within their premises.
Of course council authorities have often warned these lodge and guest house owners that they risk having their business licences revoked if they allowed sex workers to continue operating from their premises.
Sadly, it is not all lodges and guest houses that illicit sex work is conducted from that are licensed. This is evidenced by the concern raised by the Hotel and Catering Association of Zambia at the “rising numberof illegal lodges and motels in the country”, especially in rural areas.
Apparently, even the ‘midadada’ of yester-years seem to be still readily available for illegal sex work, while some people still allow such activities in their own houses at a fee. All these basically show that the fight against prostitution is not easy to win.