Not very long ago, a 30-year-old motorbike rider from Kakamega identified as Wanyonyi, found himself in a tough spot after a young girl spotted him at a women’s bathroom clothesline and raised alarm.

Neighbours descended on him as he attempted to flee and seized his bag.

Inside the bag were forty pairs of assorted women’s underwear. Wanyonyi refused to defend himself despite the mockery of residents who demanded to know his intentions, especially to prove that he wasn’t a witch doctor.

They proceeded to decorate both him and his motorbike with the retrieved panties, before the assistant chief of the area, Joseph Matunda, assured locals that the man would be arraigned in court for burglary. Underwear fetishism; bras, panties, corsets, pantyhose or tights and the many undergarments women wear feed a more primal desire in some people.

Underwear fetishism

Maurice Matheka, a sexologist, delves into this curious habit and answers questions that linger in our minds after such occurrences. Why would a man think about, let alone like and pursue women’s panties?

“Underwear fetishism is more existent in a larger percentage of men -and women- than society cares to admit.Unfortunately, culture forbids men from coming into contact with these intimately feminine and therefore ‘unclean’ garments. Men are intensely stimulated by sight and smell and this might explain the large appeal of panties, fresh or used, to some of us. Part of the intrigue may come from the taboo surrounding it,” he says.

Matheka says that to avoid getting into a sticky situation such as that of those who made the news one should open up to their partner about their desires.

Self Pleasure

“Mostly, it is men who do such things because men, unlike women, always seek outlets for internal pressure such as watching pornography, hiring prostitutes and in this case, stealing panties,” Matheka says.

Some taboos restricting men’s interaction with these dainty garments make it hard for those with such proclivities to indulge, making them have to beg, borrow or steal the coveted objects from the women.

Dominic Iganga, a 25-year-old from Nandi County, met a fate similar to Wanyonyi’s in Kakamega, but was quick to lay blame on his elderly grandmother, Truphena Obayo.

He claimed that it was his granny who asked him for the underwear, but vehemently refused any knowledge of what the loot was for. Alarmed residents claimed the old woman was a witch who used their panties in evil magic rituals to ruin their marital lives. Uneasy residents dispersed from the Kapkere Police Station worried over any charms cast over them and their personal lives.

Occult

Residents in the area lamented over the silent effects of the rarely reported incidents, saying they felt unsafe hanging their innerwear out with such characters in their midst. They accused the old woman and her grandson of bewitching them by putting the stolen panties in a pot filled with concoctions and spreading them on the ground for a snake to sleep on.

Women complained of low sex drive, whilst men accused their wives of odd behaviour in bed. Unmarried men also claimed to have getting married.