She said she was sexually assaulted by a stranger despite having locked the door to her hotel room.
Beach Hotel Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania, aka Warere Beach reacted to the allegation of sexual assault on its facility, made by a Nigerian lady, Zainab Oladehinde.
Oladehinde, in a Twitter thread on Saturday, shared her horrific experience at the Beach Hotel Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania.
She said she was sexually assaulted by a stranger despite having locked the door to her hotel room.
According to her, she was almost raped by the stranger. She narrated that she escaped because she lied that she was HIV positive, a move that stopped the attacker from penetrating her.
However, Warere Beach, in a post on Facebook on Sunday, said it provided support for Oladehinde after the alleged incident, but that at a stage, she decided not to take the case further.
It said since the allegations were put online, its website had been hacked and it had received over 4,000 negative reviews on Google “from people who had never stayed at our hotel”.
In the statement, Warere Beach said, “We are saddened that we must post this.
“Our Warere website was hacked, today 16 April 2022. Simultaneously, we were inundated by a massive release of defamatory reviews and messages through many different social media platforms regarding accusations of sexual assault at our property. Within 3 hours we received over 4,000 negative reviews on Google from people who had never stayed at our hotel.
“As a woman-owned and operated business, the Warere takes guest safety and the safety of single women travelers extremely seriously, as evidenced by 6 years of verified positive reviews from women all over the world.
“We tried our best to support Ms Zainab Oladehinde as soon as we learned of the accusations. We immediately brought her to the police and offered her support. The case was brought before Government authorities in April 2021 when it occurred. The police report indicated that this was a personal case, and not negligence on the part of the Warere.
“After passing by the Zanzibar Nungwi police, the District Commissioners Office, the Regional Commissioners Office and the office of the Second Vice President of the govt of Zanzibar, Ms. Zainab declined to take the case further. Ms Zainab Oladehinde was informed that the hotel would abide by damages rewarded by the court system of Zanzibar.
“We will continue to serve our guests from all corners of the world with the same level of hospitality and excellence that we have become known for throughout Zanzibar over the past six years.”
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters on Sunday reported that Zanzibar Commission for Tourism had reacted to the allegation of sexual assault made by Oladehinde, saying it had launched an investigation into the incident.
The Commission said it was shocked and disappointed to learn of the incident.
It, however, noted that an investigation had commenced into the incident, stating that it would not condone the ill-treatment of visitors.
The statement signed by Hafsa H. Mbamba, the Executive Secretary of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism read, “On 16th April 2022, the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism has been made aware of a statement made on social media by Ms Zainab Oladehinde, a Nigerian national regarding an incident of assault, that is said to have taken place in April 2021 at Warere Hotel in Nungwi, Zanzibar.
“The Zanzibar Commission for Tourism is shocked and disappointed to learn of this incident and take these allegations very seriously. An immediate investigation has commenced and we will report its findings. We condemn any harm or threat to our visitors to the peaceful islands of Zanzibar.
“On behalf of the Ministry of Tourism & Heritage, we would like to inform our visitors that the Ministry abhors any ill-treatment of any persons on the isles as this is not the Zanzibari hospitality nor the treatment we want our visitors to receive.
“It is a regrettable incident we are following closely.”
Oladehinde’s Account
Oladehinde had posted on Twitter, “Around 12:00am, a few friends and family called to wish me a happy birthday and then I went back to my room to sleep. A few hours into my sleep, I started to feel a strange hand touching my breast.
“Now, this was me sleeping naked on my bed in my hotel room with my doors locked so this was definitely a dream.
"I told myself and went back to sleep a few minutes afterwards.
"I started to feel my hands stroking someone’s penis. At this moment, I opened my eyes to confirm if It was actually a dream or if I was in real danger.
"Lo and behold, it wasn’t a dream. There was a naked man lying on my bed and touching me at 2:00am in my hotel room!
“He started calling me “baby” and then I became scared cause the room was dark as I had switched off the lights before I went to bed. Now, I was extremely scared.
"I asked the man “who are you?” But all he kept saying was “baby, baby”. I asked in a louder tone this time around cause I was getting angry and then he quickly stuffed his hands over my mouth in an attempt to stop me from shouting.
"At this moment, I became very scared as I didn’t know who this was and why this person was in my room.”
She added: “So I continued begging him and telling him I’d allow him to have sex with me but he’d need to go get a condom so as not to get HIV.
"I saw that he reacted to the word “HIV” so I kept on saying HIV whilst crying profusely at this point.
"His belt fell off the bed so I got an instant feeling that this man came into my room fully clothed before removing his clothes right on my bed. He wore his shoes and came back to press my neck against the bed.”
While making efforts to nab the culprit, Oladehinde said she reported to the police but the complaint was dismissed after a medical report established that there was no penetration.
She also said the owner of the hotel put the blame on her and claimed that she was lying.
She wrote: "I got back to the police station and the policemen said they have no issue with the sexual assault since I wasn’t raped. That the only issue here was my stolen money.
"The policemen at the Nungwi Police Station in Zanzibar kept on bullying and harassing me. They told me to leave their police station that I wasn’t raped and they had confirmed there was no penetration from the nurses...
“The hotel has closed off its comment section on Instagram but I won’t stop till everyone boycotts this crazy hotel.
"The owner and manager said I lied about my experience."