Airbnb, a San Francisco-based company, has issued a statement in response to the recent brutal murder incidents involving two women within premises listed on its platform in Nairobi’s Roysambu and South B estates.
In its statement on the Airbnb website, the company conveyed shock over the events, while simultaneously emphasizing that the incidents are not linked to accommodations booked through their platform.
According to Airbnb, there were no bookings registered on the platform for the reported dates at the locations where the murders occurred.
Additionally, the persons of interest in both cases did not have registered accounts with Airbnb.
“Over the past week, Kenya has witnessed two heinous crimes in the city of Nairobi. We are saddened and shocked to learn of these events, and our thoughts are with the victims’ loved ones during this difficult time,” the statement reads.
The statement further continues, “We can confirm that neither of these events were connected to stays on Airbnb. We do not have accounts registered to the names of the accused.”
Stabbing of socialite Starlet Wahu
Recent incidents have highlighted Airbnbs in Nairobi as the scenes of tragic crimes.
The first notable event was the murder of socialite Starlet Wahu on January 4th. Miss Wahu was found dead at an Airbnb apartment in South B.
Video surveillance from the apartments captured Starlet Wahu and John Matara entering an elevator within the apartment block. They disembarked on the fourth floor and proceeded to their room, which they had reportedly rented for a night.
Police would later be called after Wahu’s lifeless body was discovered in a pool of blood inside the apartment after the Airbnb’s owner reported the incident.
CCTV and witness reports indicated that Matara, the suspect, hastily left the premises wearing blood-stained clothes.
Although 34-year-old John Matara was later arrested by the police and accused of killing Wahu, Airbnb now asserts that Matara does not hold an account with their platform.
Barely ten days after Wahu’s brutal murder, the dismembered body of a 20-year-old woman was found dumped in a trash bag at a reported Airbnb residence in Roysambu.
The proprietor of the Airbnb property, Risper Muthoni, received a call from the apartment’s caretaker who discovered the body parts.
A Nigerian national suspected of being behind the brutal butchering was arrested at JKIA attempting to flee Kenya.
Airbnb has also distanced itself from this latest development, stating that it is not connected to stays booked through their platform.
