Zanzibar: Hotel Faces Closure After Nigerian Female Traveller Narrates Horrifying Experience, Tourism Commission Responds
Zanzibar, one of the most prefered tourist destinations in Africa is currently receiving a ‘flack’ after a Nigerian female traveller, Zainab Oladehinde, shared a horrifying experience meted to her in 2021 during a trip to celebrate her 23rd birthday.
Although the incident happened in 2021, Zainab, the narrator of the incident reveals she has not been able to talk about it as she’s “been in therapy for a year to heal from the psychological trauma as this experience”
Read the narration below as shared.
It’s high time I told my horrible experience in Zanzibar as a young solo female traveler.
This incident happened a year ago in April of 2021 but I haven’t been able to talk about it cause I’ve been in therapy for a year to heal from the psychological trauma as this experience
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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 traveler but none of my thoughts would have prepared me for what
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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 do6
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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?
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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 the20
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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!
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
I decided it was very unsafe for me to remain in the room. If I’d die, I’d rather die trying to escape rather than let the man come back to attack me a second time in my room. I quickly put some clothes on and left my room barefooted so as not to make noise when I get out
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
but I thought to myself "what if this was the person (s) who actually attacked me? ” Then I became extremely scared cause I’d have to find a way to get to the reception without those men seeing me.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
was no one in all these rooms at the reception?
Almost immediately, I remembered the Russian couple I had spent some time with the day before and I could go to their room to seek refuge.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
I hoped their room wouldn’t be locked so incase I get noticed, I would be able to call for help before anything happens to me.
Fortunately for me, the room was opened and I ran inside. They woke up almost immediately and I told the guy ‘Alex ‘ how I was strangled and almost
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
At 6am in the morning, I left Alex’s room and went back to the reception. Still didn’t find anyone there .
I called my Taxi driver “Mr Suley” to come pick me up and take me to the police station as I waited at the hotel reception/restaurant
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
back to bed. My phone battery was low at this point so I had to go back to my room to pick up my charger. On getting to my room, I checked my bag where I had kept my money and then I realized my money was missing!
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
I told Mussa to call out all the security personnel that were on duty the night before so we’d get the hang of who the culprit was. They all came out. I couldn’t recognize any of them but I could smell the man that was in my room that midnight.
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
When we got to the police station, I was asked to write my statement which I did. The police men asked me to narrate the incident to them and they advised I go to the hospital to go do a check up if I was raped or not.
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
I stood my ground and said I wouldn’t delete any picture. The police chief at the Nungwi police station then said he wouldn’t let them take me to the hospital for checkup if I don’t delete my pictures and videos
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
This is the chief of police at the Nungwi police station in Zanzibar, Tanzania who said I should delete all my pictures and videos. They knew I didn’t understand Swahili and never spoke English so I couldn’t hear what they were conversing about.
42. pic.twitter.com/kFX5KzAT0F
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
When we got to the hospital, the nurse confirmed that there was no penetration. I got back to the police station and the police men said they have no issue for the sexual assault since I wasn’t raped . That the only issue here was my stolen money .
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
This was 3pm already. This day was my BIRTHDAY. My friends and family back in Lagos didn’t know all that was happening to me in Zanzibar. I was so frustrated, sad and scared. How could the police do this to me? How could the hotel do this to me?
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
I’m sorry but I’d need a break to continue as typing this is very overwhelming and sharing this is a whole lot more than I imagined. I’ll be back
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— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
The hotel has closed off their 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
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
Management of the said hotel (Warere Beach Resort) has since responded to the allegations via Facebook. However, comments on the post have been turned off.
In a post, they wrote;
The Zanzibar Tourism Commission has also released a statement expressing their shock at the incident and launched an investigation into the matter.
Kamisheni ya Utalii Zanzibar imesema imepokea kwa masikitiko taarifa ya madai ya shambulio alilofanyiwa raia wa Naigeria, Zainab Oladehinde akiwa visiwani humo kwa ajili ya kutalii. Uchunguzi wa madai hayo umeanza na kamisheni imesisitiza hakuna mtu anayestahili kutendewa hivyo. pic.twitter.com/EKa2enoAto
— Swahili Times (@swahilitimes) April 17, 2022
