Pass notes No 2,948: Bunga bunga

Silvio Berlusconi is alleged to be keen on this particular kind of party
Karima el-Mahroug
Karima 'Ruby' el-Mahroug claims Berlusconi heard about bunga bunga parties from Gaddafi. Photograph: Kerstin Joensson/AP

Appearance: Sweaty.

Age: 17 to 80. Preferably 17.

Sorry, what are we talking about here? Bunga bunga.

Oh. They drink it on the Humber, I suppose? That's Um Bongo.

I thought they drank that in the Congo. They did, apocryphally. But look, bunga bunga is something different.

How so? Um Bongo is a memorably advertised fruit juice drink. Bunga bunga is a type of orgy where many naked teenage girls cavort for the pleasure of a few old men.

Yes, that is different. Yes, it is.

And this would be quite an exclusive orgy, I presume? Well, if you're a teenage girl, I think you can probably just turn up. Otherwise yes, the old men do have to be rather wealthy and influential. The Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, to choose one random example, is alleged to be partial to a bit of bunga bunga.

Where did this perplexing phrase originate? Nobody knows. A former nightclub dancer called Karima "Ruby" El-Mahroug (pictured above) says that Berlusconi heard about the practice from his pal Gaddafi. A German actor called Sabina Began says she organised the alleged parties, and that "Bunga Bunga" is just her nickname.

That is a lot of alleging. It is. We'll find out if it's true shortly, when Italian prosecutors put Berlusconi on trial.

Trial? What's wrong with a bit of bunga bunga between consenting adults? Nothing. But Ruby wasn't one. She was apparently just 17 at the time she allegedly attended one party with Berlusconi, which is too young to supply sexual services in Italy. Berlusconi is also alleged to have abused his authority afterwards, by getting her released from police custody.

He must be keen to clear his name. I'm sure he is. He'll have the chance to do so right after his trial for alleged bribery, his trial for alleged tax evasion, and his trial for an alleged multimillion-euro fraud, which starts today.

Do say: "What's wrong with some good old-fashioned Viagra?"

Don't say: "Do they have bunga bunga parties in prison?"