Malindi is a rough-around-the edges town, rich in Swahili influences. It retains its frontier feel while all the time oozing the trappings of its infamous Italian population.
The town has a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on. A regular to grace the white-sand shores is Naomi Campbell, one time girlfriend of Formula 1 big-man Flavio Briatore whose turreted mansion dominates the beach-front. But he is just one of some three thousand Italian property owners in Malindi. As a result it is in Malindi that you will find some of the finest espresso coffee, Parmesan and hams to be found on the continent. But they bring with them a seedy past. Rumours abound that Malindi was the place of exile for several high-level Italian Mafioso. Mafia-style assassinations are not unheard of and in December 2004 Kenyan police seized a consignment of high-grade cocaine worth over $6 million that was en route to Europe. I am in no position to draw any links between the Italians and the drugs haul, but underneath the cappuccino veneer of Malindi there are murky things going on. Prime coastal land grabbing for starters…
The rest of the town’s residents have been feeling the pinch as tourists stay clear of Kenya's turquoise waters. The beach-boys are at a loss – there are no single, fifty-something European women seeking a last-ditch sexual adventure in a desperate bid to kid themselves they still have it.
The malayas – or prostitutes – too are getting desperate as a friend discovered this weekend. It was the usual start: a pretty young woman dressed to the nines approaches the table and asks to sit down. She is gently rebuffed and settles for a cigarette instead and my friend and his drinking mate continue their evening. But she returns, repeatedly, and their polite refusals to take her propositions any further become sterner. Two bouncers come over and try and usher her away. But she refuses with a simple argument: “You expect me not to try it on with two single white guys?”, she demands, “That’s my business”. The bouncers’ argument, one that she has no time for, is that they aren’t interested. No doubt she has heard the same before and ended up selling her wares. In her mind this is no more than any other transaction. A seller and a potential buyer (except in this case that is where she is wrong), so what denies her the right to try and earn some cash? Handbags at dawn ensue.
My friend leaves. Outisde the bar a sketchy, nervous looking Italian is unloading a container load of "bathroom products"...at 4 am!