For Zainab Oladehinde, it was a chance to celebrate her 23rd birthday on her own terms. So, she booked a solo trip to Zanzibar, Tanzania.
But what was supposed to be an experience of a lifetime turned into a nightmare that left her emotionally shaken and in need of countless therapy sessions.
After a year, she finally got the strength to share her story on social media, as a cautionary tale to other female solo travellers.
Taking to Twitter, Oladehinde said the incident had happened a year ago.
“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 traveller but none of my thoughts would have prepared me for what I eventually witnessed and experienced in Tanzania,” she wrote.
I eventually witnessed and experienced in Tanzania.
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
It was a 2-day flight as we had a one day transit time in Adis Ababa Ethiopia. I arrived at my hotel WARERE BEACH hotel in Nungwi Zanzibar on the 16th of April, 2021 in the afternoon around 4pm where I had booked a 6 pic.twitter.com/JcqYlbikQm
Oladehinde explained in chilling detail how she was sexually assaulted in her hotel room and managed to escape to another guest’s room.
But the nightmare had not ended. For her, the next few days were an emotionally draining roller-coaster of incessant lows.
She said hotel management didn’t take her allegations seriously, while the police accused her of wasting their time.
To make matters worse, the suspects had been hotel employees.
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
49 pic.twitter.com/UAJiqfKegj
To this day, the hotel or the police have not investigated her assault. And in the meantime, Warere Beach Hotel has closed its comments section on Instagram and accused Oladehinde of lying about her experience.
Read her full thread below:
It’s high time I told my horrible experience in Zanzibar as a young solo female traveler.
— Zainab Oladehinde (@zainabdehinde) April 16, 2022
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