Zanzibar Tourism Commission Investigates Allegation Of S*xual Assault By Nigerian Lady In Tanzanian Hotel

Zainab Oladehinde

It has reported that the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism has reacted to the allegation of s*xual assault 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 s*xually assaulted by a stranger despite having locked the door to her hotel room. 

The young lady said she was almost raped by the stranger. 

According to her, she escaped because she lied that she was HIV positive, a move that stopped the attacker from penetrating her. 

She wrote 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 n*ked 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 n*ked 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 s*x 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 s*xual 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."

Reacting in a statement issued on Sunday, the Commission says it is shocked and disappointed to learn of the incident. 

It, however, noted that an investigation has commenced into the incident, stating that it does not condone ill-treatment of visitors.

The statement signed by Hafsa H. Mbamba, the Executive Secretary of the Zanzibar Commission for Tourism reads: “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.”