A Kenyan woman has alleged that what began as a night out at a popular entertainment joint in Kasarani, Nairobi, turned into a three-day ordeal after she was allegedly left behind with a KSh15,000 bill by a Nigerian man she had gone out with.
According to an account of the incident, the Kenyan woman had been invited to Triple X Lounge in Kasarani by the Nigerian man, who was reportedly accompanied by several other friends.
The evening allegedly started normally, with the group drinking and partying. The Nigerian man is said to have ordered alcoholic drinks worth approximately Sh15,000 as the celebrations continued.
However, the woman claims that at some point during the night, she began feeling unusually drowsy and eventually fell asleep at the table.
She reportedly woke up to find that the Nigerian man and the other people she had been with had left the premises.
Woke up to Sh15,000 bill
The woman allegedly had only KSh100 in her possession, money she had reportedly set aside as fare to get back home.
It was at this point, according to her account, that a waiter approached her and demanded payment of the Sh15,000 bill.
Unable to settle the amount, the woman allegedly expected the matter to be reported to the police or resolved with the management and the people who had incurred the bill.
Instead, she claims she was detained at the entertainment establishment.
The allegations become even more disturbing at this point.
The woman claims that she was held for three days and subjected to repeated physical assault while being pressured to pay the outstanding bill.
She alleges that she was beaten on different parts of her body and denied basic necessities, including food and water.
According to her account, the injuries and marks left on her body were evidence of the alleged beatings she endured during the three-day ordeal.
Mother allegedly intervenes
The situation reportedly escalated after the woman’s mother learnt what had happened and went to the club to seek her daughter’s release and negotiate how the alleged Sh15,000 bill could be settled.
However, the family claims the management declined to release her and instead continued holding her.
The mother subsequently went to Kasarani Police Station to report the matter and seek police intervention.
According to the family’s account, however, they were allegedly denied the opportunity to record an Occurrence Book (OB) report after mentioning the name of the entertainment establishment.
The family now wants authorities to investigate both the alleged detention and assault, as well as the circumstances surrounding the Sh15,000 bill and the people who allegedly left the woman at the club.
What the law says
The allegations raise serious questions because Kenya’s Constitution expressly protects individuals against arbitrary detention and violence.
Article 29 of the Constitution provides that every person has the right to freedom and security of the person, including protection from being deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without just cause, detention without trial, violence from public or private sources and torture.
It also protects people from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Article 25 further states that freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is a fundamental right that cannot be limited.
This means that even where a customer genuinely owes money to an establishment, allegations of physically detaining or assaulting the person would raise serious legal and human-rights concerns.
The allegations also come amid wider public concern over the treatment of people in and around entertainment establishments, particularly when disputes over bills, security and customers escalate.
Triple X Lounge is an entertainment establishment located in the Kasarani area, with its public social-media presence identifying the venue as being behind Magunas Supermarket.
Family appeals for justice
The woman’s family is now appealing for justice and wants the relevant authorities to establish what happened during the three days she was allegedly held.
They are also seeking answers over the Nigerian man and his friends who allegedly left her behind, the circumstances under which the Sh15,000 bill was accumulated and why the matter allegedly resulted in the woman’s detention instead of being handled through lawful channels.
The allegations remain allegations unless established through an investigation or court proceedings.
Triple X Lounge management and the officers at Kasarani Police Station have not, in the information available for this report, been independently established to have committed the alleged offences.
The case nonetheless raises a troubling question: Can an unpaid restaurant or club bill ever justify a private establishment taking the law into its own hands?
Under Kenya’s constitutional framework, allegations of arbitrary detention, violence and torture warrant serious investigation rather than being treated as an ordinary dispute over an unpaid bill.
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