What began as a promising evening out quickly turned into a costly and humiliating ordeal for a Nairobi woman who allegedly fell victim to a sophisticated dating scam that left her facing a staggering hotel bill of KSh 77,000.
According to her sister, the woman had accepted an invitation to meet a man for a date at a Nairobi hotel. However, upon arriving at the venue, she was surprised to find him seated with another woman. When she questioned the situation, the man reportedly reassured her that he was simply attending a business meeting and would soon join her.
Trusting his explanation, she settled in and waited.
For nearly three hours, from around 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the woman remained at the hotel as the man allegedly kept promising that he would be with her shortly. During the wait, she ordered food and drinks worth less than KSh 5,000. At one point, the man is said to have asked her to send him KSh 3,000 in exchange for dollars, a request she wisely declined.
As the evening wore on, he reportedly informed her that he needed to escort a business associate before returning. Moments later, he seemingly vanished.
His phone calls went unanswered. Messages were ignored. The man had become completely unreachable, leaving the woman stranded and confused.
But the biggest shock was yet to come.
When she prepared to settle her bill and leave, hotel management allegedly presented her with a jaw-dropping invoice totaling KSh 77,000. She was informed that the man had reportedly made several reservations, ordered expensive alcoholic beverages for takeaway, and instructed hotel staff to charge all the expenses to her account without her knowledge or consent.
The woman immediately protested, insisting she should only be responsible for the items she personally consumed. However, the hotel reportedly rejected her plea and contacted police.
In a dramatic twist, she and another woman were allegedly arrested, while the man accused of orchestrating the scheme reportedly escaped detention.
Adding another layer to the controversy, the victim’s sister claimed that investigations revealed at least two other women may have been targeted using a similar tactic by the same suspect.
The incident has since sparked intense debate on social media, with many Kenyans expressing outrage and questioning how such charges could be assigned to someone without their authorization. Some users speculated that scammers may occasionally work in collaboration with rogue hotel employees, while others urged caution when meeting strangers and advised people to clarify payment arrangements before accepting invitations.
As discussions continue online, the incident serves as a sobering reminder that not every romantic invitation is what it appears to be—and that a dream date can sometimes turn into an expensive nightmare. :::
