Auntie wa Harrier: How wealthy Nairobi women are sweeping away local boy bands

She's unmistakable; gold-plated dot earrings, a freshly-installed or buoyant wig, sparkly gilded rings on each finger, well-manicured nails, scarlet-red lips, chunky physical features, that little black dress and sleek, black peep-toe pumps.

Add a chic sling bag to the mix and maybe throw in some faux Louis Vuitton black sunglasses and you have yourself the perfect prototype - Auntie wa Harrier.

These monied women strut around like they own the place - they have an air that belies their deep pockets as they walk around, car keys dangling from their sheeny fingers, surveying the area, making big talk, issuing random commands here and there, pouting and bossing their subjects around with little condolence.

They're said to own highrise apartments in and out of the CBD, said to run a couple Mugithi joints littered across the Eastern Bypass, said to own land that stretches from Nairobi to the shores of Taiwan and said to love their Guiness baridi. Or, if they're feeling a little mischievous, red wine.

Flirtatous and insatiably amorous, these women run the dating world with the flick of their finger and the hiss of their tongue.

Their general mien, bulging purses, showy attitude and sexual allure has made them quite a hit with the boy bands that play the various clubs they religiously patronise.

In Nairobi West, in the many Benga-themed nightclubs that dot the fabled streets, boy band members, who, every weekend, entertain revelers with a string of back to back Benga and Rhumba hits, have been living large courtesy of these women.

"They're quite lively. Quite loving too. They are our biggest fans. They will always be the first on the dance floor whenever we are playing their favorite Benga jams. They're our biggest supporters and keep these theme nights alive. Slowly, you end up falling for them without even knowing it, " John De Mollo* (not his real name), says.

Along the Eastern Bypass, an area collectively known as Kamakis, and an expanse that sees banal nightclubs line up from the highway to as far as the eye can see, these women arrive discreetly on Saturday afternoons, leave their massive fuel-guzzlers at the car wash and preenly swaltz into the club, ready for a time of their lives.

Kariuki Mugo, a guitar player with a popular Mugithi band, says that he is proudly dating one of these women.

"Ni wamama wasafi sana. Hawana drama. They arrive, sit at a corner, mind their business and enjoy the music to the full. Most like Samidoh songs, Joyce wa Mama, Jose Gatutura, they enjoy it so much and they end up falling for us, the band members," he confesses.

From their seats, these women, already two bottles down, ogle at the boy band members, admire their gyrating hips, velvet voices, great musical harmony, naughty antics and impressive expertise at the drums and guitar.

"Hawa wamama unajua wako na pesa. Na wanatafuta vijana wadogo wanakaa vizuri, wako na talent na pia wako na ma-fans. So these women are attracted to these boys because they're also quite popular in these kinds of nightclubs. Most of them end up forming romantic relationships with members of these boy bands, " Ruth Muiruiri, a manager at Club Fireworks along the Eastern Bypass, says.

Play any Osogo Winyo song at any of these Nairobi West nightclubs and these women will flock to the dancefloor, dancing delicately as they bring along their wine glass to sip along, seductively gesturing to the boy at the bass. Or guitar.

"These boys are fine and very talented. Every woman my age wants such a boy to be around. Look at how good they look and how good they are at what they do, surely, you can imagine all that energy in the bedroom, can't you?" Achieng Odongo* (not her real name) said to Citizen Digital.

They've already made millions from their many businesses, have raised their kids to campus levels, drive around in the glossiest Harriers in town, own stately homes in Juja, can afford a random getaway and can afford to buy off the bar next door.

One last thing they desperately want - a talented member of a local boy band, adept at fashion, gifted at his craft and, ultimately, ready for a little naughtiness after work.