5 tough questions the Ndichu brothers didn't answer in their statement

GEOFFREY MBUTHIA ENTERTAINMENT SUB-EDITOR

19 October 2021

I am sure that if you asked them at the moment, twin brothers, Eddie Ndichu and Paul Ndichu would most likely want a re-do of the crazy events that unfolded early Monday morning at the Ole Sereni hotel.

The two were captured on video in an altercation with some other patrons at the establishment. The initial allegation is that the two were involved in a physical fight with two ladies.

The claim from one of the ladies who contacted Boniface Mwangi is that one of the brothers had been rejected by one of them and as a result had taken it poorly. That was when all hell had broken loose with part of the incident captured in the now-viral video below:

After a serious backlash from the Kenyan public (including Eddie's wife, Janet Mbugua) the brothers decided to release a statement today morning regarding the incident.

In the statement by Wapi Pay, the management (which is run and headed by the twins) says they were trying to neutralize a confrontation and to defend themselves. They wrote;

"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.

Our understanding is that the allegations and video currently being shared on social media albeit horrific and regrettable, do not depict the true events of what transpired that night.

To be clear Paul and Eddie got involved in an attempt to neutralize a confrontation between two women and to defend themselves from certain aggressors.

The matter has been reported to the police and DCI for further investigation and resolution.

Pending this, we request restrain be exercised in potentially unfairly spreading misinformation that has no factual basis." the statement partly read

In what looked like a perfunctory statement, the brothers left a lot of questions unanswered which many Kenyans including singer Wahu saw through.

My questions after their statement and not addressed conclusively are below:

1. Why was one of the brothers vandalising a side mirror if he was trying to neutralise the situation? Those aren't the actions of a peacemaker.

2. One of the brothers who was trying to neautralise a situation, was remarkably calm when picking up his item of clothing that was laying on the floor.

This tells me that at the time he believed he was in control of the situation. Rarely if ever are peacemakers in control of any situation.

The normal cause of action for a peacemaker is to quickly intervene and de-escalate a situation before it gets out of hand, something that clearly didn't happen in the video.

3. Why was one of the brothers slapping one of the women in the video? Neutralising often calls for separation of the individuals in the fight, not escalating by hitting a person involved in the fight.

4. Why was one of the brothers in the video highly aggressive, and shouting towards a suited man who was trying to stop him from hitting one of the women?

In most situations, his actions don't help to neutralise a situation but cause more harm than good.

5. Lastly, at a time when most of the public has a narrative that paints the two brothers in the role of the villain (depending on the viral video), why wouldn't they try to do PR and explain what happened exactly?

Let's not forget that one of the ladies who was in the video has already given out her side of the story, which is the dominant narrative at the moment.

Why wouldn't people who are interested in their own survival try to turn the tide in their favour with what they believe really happened?

Haven't they already lost one of their investors in their WapiPay fintech? Hasn't Eddie had to step down from the Kenyan Fintech board pending investigations?

At this time being economical with what happened (especially if they believe that it exonerates them) only hurts them.

Why not staunch the bleeding with what they consider the accurate version of events?

But what do I know...