A young lady, Zainab Oladehinde, has shared her horrific experience at the Beach Hotel Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania, sparking reactions from Nigerians and other Africans on Social Media.
In a Twitter thread on Saturday, Oladehinde alleged she was sexually assaulted by a stranger despite having locked the door to her hotel room.
The young lady claimed she was almost raped by the stranger, but she lied about being HIV positive to keep the attacker at bay.
While attempting to apprehend the perpetrator, Oladehinde stated that she reported the incident to the police, but that the complaint was dropped after a medical examination determined that there had been no penetration.
She wrote, “This incident happened a year ago in April of 2021. I haven’t been able to talk about it cause I’ve been in therapy for a year to heal from the psychological trauma.
“This experience has been the most painful and traumatic I’ve ever faced in my entire life.
“On the 15th of April 2021, I flew from Lagos, Nigeria to Zanzibar, Tanzania, for my 23rd birthday and I was extremely excited about it. I had my reservations about going to a foreign country as a solo female traveller but none of my thoughts would have prepared me for what I eventually witnessed and experienced in Tanzania.
I eventually witnessed and experienced in Tanzania.
“It was a 2-day flight as we had a one day transit time in Adis Ababa Ethiopia. I arrived at my hotel WARERE BEACH hotel in Nungwi Zanzibar on the 16th of April, 2021 in the afternoon around 4pm where I had booked a 6-6 night accommodation.
“On getting to the hotel, I was welcomed by the staff and they showed me my room which had a pool and sea view. Now, this looked like heaven to me and I can remember being so excited as this was going to be my dream birthday holiday.
“I couldn’t do much except eat dinner as I was tired from my flight and I just wanted to sleep.
My itinerary the next day was to spend sometime to explore the hotel whilst I settle fully into vacation mode before I’d start my tourist activities which I never got the time to do
“I Had breakfast, went to the pool and the beach which was very nice . I mingled with some Russian couples who were also lodged at the hotel and by evening time, I was already in full birthday mode as it was just a few hours to my birthday.
“At around 12am, a few friends and family called to wish me a happy birthday and then I went back to my room to sleep. 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
Some 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 I was in real danger.
“Low and behold, it wasn’t a dream. There was a naked man lying on my bed and touching me at 2am 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.
“In this moment, I became very scared as I didn’t know who this was and why this person was in my room. A lot of things were going through my head at the same time. Who is this ? Does he have a weapon ? Will I get raped and killed on my birthday in a strange land?
“How did this man get into my room? Should I struggle for my life? Will he rape me and throw me into the ocean directly opposite my room? Should I let him rape me so he may spare my life? Should I run? Will he chase me?
“Who else is outside my door? Is he the only one? Does he have a knife? Will he stab me?
While all these was going through my head, this man tried to climb on top of me in an attempt to force his penis inside of me.
“At this point, I became scared cause he was stinking so badly and that was the only thing I could smell. I couldn’t see his face so I started touching his body so I’d get some clarity on how to identify him if I ever get out of my room alive.
“I was crying profusely now and needed to find a quick way to distract him so I started begging him not to rape me but he didn’t understand English as he kept on speaking Swahili to me. I then lied to him that I have HIV and he’d need to get a condom before sleeping with me.
“He didn’t understand a word I said but immediately he heard HIV, he paused for a while.
I quickly wanted to use the opportunity to run but then he started strangling my neck. I became very scared for my life as I saw my life flash right before me in an instant
“So I continued begging him and telling him I’d allow him 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 to 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
“As I struggled to not let him strangle me, he left the room and told me he’d be back with a condom.
Immediately he left, I switched on the light, tried to call hotel reception but to my surprise, there was no intercom or phone lines to reach the hotel reception through the room.
“How can there be no phones in the room in a hotel that was supposedly a 4.5 star hotel in Zanzibar? I immediately locked my doors, ran to the bathroom and called my friend. I couldn’t talk well cause I was just crying but finally, I could speak and then we decided
“I couldn’t stay back in the room and wait for the rapist to come back. Hell! Who knows what would happen to me this time around when he comes back to my room.
Should I leave my room? I don’t know who or what is outside my hotel room either!”
The accuser claimed she informed the hotel about the incident, but they ignored her claims as “lies.”
She went on to say that the Tanzanian police dismissed the allegation as well after a medical examination revealed no penetration.
The allegations have sparked reactions across the continent even as Authorities in Tanzania say an investigation has begun into unraveling the incident involving the Nigerian national.
A Twitter user with the handle @dotunonamission said; “Zainab deserves justice. Fish out the culprit – sanction the hotel.
That’s mental trauma and she might never be comfortable to travel or tour again. It’s sickening! #WareraBeach #WarereBeach”
Another user with the handle @Adaoftheeast tweeted and said; “I’m extremely livid over the appalling and poignant event that took place in Zanzibar.
@zainabdehinde as a grown black woman has every right to go on vacation unaccompanied.That unjustifiable evil shouldn’t have happened.
HAKI LAZIMA ITENDEKE!
#WareraBeach”
Reacting to Oladehinde’s allegations, Hafsa Mbamba, the executive secretary at Zanzibar’s Tourism Commission, described the development as “regrettable.”
In a statement on Sunday,Mbamba said efforts are already being made to investigate the incident ahead of reportage of the commission’s findings.
“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 takes 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.
“This is not the Zanzibari hospitality nor the treatment we want our visitors to receive. It is a regrettable incident we are following closely.”
