The Board of the Association of Fintechs in Kenya has responded to the controversial assault allegation against the Ndichu brothers. In a press statement, the Board has announced the resignation of Eddie Ndichu as a board member pending formal investigations into the matter. This is after the Board convened a special meeting on Tuesday 19th October, 2021.
The Board further said that it does not condone any form of gender violence by stating, “…we regret the current circumstances and do not in any way condone gender-based violence or violence f any kind.”
Eddie’s resignation comes after one of the investors in their company Wapi Pay withdrew their funding. The investor, Kepple Africa Venture, revealed their intention withdraw their funding from the tech firm after its co-founders, the Ndichu brothers, were accused of assaulting women.
Paul and Eddie were captured on camera assaulting two women at Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi. According to one of the victims who spoke on social media, the two brothers allegedly assaulted her sister at the hotel after the women declined sexual advances.
In the video that has since gone viral on social media, one of the brothers is seen breaking a side mirror of a vehicle parked outside the hotel before going back to the hotel to join his brother in assaulting a woman.
Following the alleged incident, the Chinese investor revealed that they will cut ties with the company owned by the two brothers.
“In light of the alleged assault on women by the founders of our portfolio company Wapi Pay, we Kepple Africa Ventures hereby announce that we have zero tolerance on such conduct and announce that we will relinquish all the rights of our investment stake in Wapi Pay,“ the Chinese investor said in a tweet.
Wapi Pay had released a statement on the allegations following an altercation involving twin brothers Eddie and Paul Ndichu. Through a statement, the company alleged that the video doing rounds on social media does not reflect the true events that took place on October 16.
“We found the story distasteful and troubling and want to firmly state that any type of behaviour involving violence against women does not reflect our values nor does it reflect those of Eddie and Paul.” the statement read.
The startup founders also issued a statement expressing their regrets for the incident. “Wapi Pay co-founders Paul and Eddie, want to use this medium to express their deepest regrets for the incident that occured. We appreciate your patience as we work through the proper resolution of the incident and continue to uphold our values while remaining committed to serving our customers,” further read the statement.
Many netizens have however dismissed the statement, and calling on legal action against the duo.