The two women in Ndichu twins altercation speak out

Lawyer Philip Murgor has asked Inspector General Hilary Mutyambai to assign a special team to investigate the alleged Saturday night attack of two sisters by the Ndichu twins.

And, the sisters in the middle of the Ndichu twins hotel altercation have spoken out.

Accompanied by their uncle, Senior Counsel Murgor, Cheryl Murgor and Stephanie Murgor said they were attending a wedding after-party at the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi on the night of October 16-17.

The statement by the senior lawyer says, "on the night of 16-17 October, at Emara Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi, two young ladies, namely Cheryl Murgor and Stephanie Murgor aged 24 and 22 respectively, who are also my nieces, were attending a wedding after-party, at the Emara Lounge, on the 10th floor. They were accompanied by two friends namely Samuel Ramdas, and Patrick Koech."

Murgor went on, "At about 2.30am, one of the so-called "Ndichu Twin Brothers" dressed in dark clothing made an improper pass at Stephanie, to which she responded: Ären't you the husband of Janet Mbugua?" The lady who was with the twin brothers then shouted, "Ex-husband!"

The lawyer added, "A little later, when Stephanie left their table heading towards the exit, one of the twin brothers verbally assaulted her ... suddenly, the brother in dark clothes jumped onto Stephanie, and started choking her by grabbing her by the throat. When her boyfriend (Samuel) attempted to rescue her, he was also grabbed by the throat. After a few seconds, he let go of the two, extremely shaken couple, but went on to threaten them by stating that he had marked their faces." 

Stephanie Murgor, Phillip Murgor, and Cheryl Murgir during the interview yesterday. [Pkemoi Ng'enoh, Standard]

"Cheryl and Stephanie and their friends then proceeded to the lift hoping to escape further confrontation.

"At the ground floor, Stephanie and Samuel went to bring the car around, while Cheryl and Patrick waited at the lobby," SC Murgor said.

"Suddenly, the twin brothers together with their lady friend appeared on the ground floor. One of the brothers, together with their lady friend proceeded to attack Cheryl and Patrick, after which both brothers proceeded to the front entrance where Stephanie and Sammy were waiting in the car."

Murgor alleged that at the front entrance, the twin brother in dark clothes, broke the right-hand door side mirror while the other twin in a white shirt broke the left side mirror before they both went back to join the assault on Cheryl.

The SC lauded the hotel security and the police for intervening.

Wapi Pay co-founders and brothers Paul and Eddie Ndichu.

Murgor said, "while the Ndichu brothers pleaded with Sammy to be allowed to pay for the damage to the car. Sammy accepted a payment of Sh110,000 for damage to the two mirrors and a dent. One of the brothers proceeded to pay by M-Pesa, after which they (the brothers) went back into the hotel. However, immediately thereafter, the transaction was reversed. At no point whatsoever did the young ladies accept any compensation for the assault or injury to themselves."

Cheryl and Stephanie reported the matter at Akila Police Station. The incident was partially captured by a phone recording, which has since gone viral.

But in a joint statement released after the incident went viral, the Ndichu brothers, who are co-founders of fintech startup Wapi Pay, say they find the narrative distasteful and troubling and that any type of behaviour involving violence against women does not reflect their values.

They stated that the allegations in the video on social media do not depict the true events that transpired that night.

They said, “To be clear, Paul and Eddie got involved in an attempt to neutralise a confrontation between two women and to defend themselves from certain aggressors.”

The brothers said the matter had been reported to the police and the DCI for further investigation and resolution.

Emara-Oleserni hotel in their statement on Tuesday said their security managed to step in in time and contain the situation from escalating.

“We are aware that there are some disturbing pictures and videos circulating online of an incident that occurred on 17th October 2021 at the lobby of Emara Ole-Sereni Hotel…” Group CEO Ghulam Samdani said

The statement added, “please note that we do not accept nor condone any such behaviour as we have an obligation to provide a safe and enjoyable experience for all our guests”