The saga involving techies Eddie and his twin brother Paul Ndichu, and two sisters who accuse the men of assaulting them has taken a new twist as fresh CCTV footage over their alternation two weeks ago has raised questions over what transpired on the night in question at Nairobi’s Ole Sereni hotel.
This is as the Nation learnt that the matter has now been transferred from the Akila police station to the DCIO of Lang’ata sub county police headquarters after the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) returned the file for further investigations.
To date, the Ndichu brothers have not been summoned to record a statement with police. Their accusers, sisters Cheryl and Stephanie Murgor have recorded statements twice; first on October 17 at Akila and then on Monday at Lang’ata.
Ms Munira Hassan, the third woman who was involved in the scuffle, has also recorded a statement at the Kiambu police station, where she claimed that the twins came to her rescue after one of the sisters started raining kicks on her in the hotel lobby.
“We got to the lobby and were talking to the receptionist and next thing we know, a lady is running into the lobby screaming, cursing us out and taking her shoes asking to fight the person who pissed her sister off, with a security guard holding her back,” Munira is said to have told the police.
“That’s when I jumped in and told her again to respect people and to mind her business and she tried to kick me, and one of the twins held me back to protect me from her, but one of the men from her side came in and hit me,” said Munira.
Ndichu twins: Alleged assault victims speak
On Monday, Cheryl, 22, and Stephanie, 24, reported to the Lang’ata Police station accompanied by Senior Counsel Philip Murgor, who is their uncle, to shed more light about the incident to a new investigation team.
Among the things the DPP had told investigators to find out before returning the file to him for directions is to ascertain if the Ndichu brothers are licensed firearm holders, perform a forensic analysis of phones belonging to the people in the saga and record fresh statements from everyone, including staff at the hotel who were present.
Investigators have also been instructed to obtain and forward CCTV footage from the 10th floor lounge at Ole Sereni where the scuffle began and also from the ground floor lobby and entrance. Additionally, an inspection is supposed to be done on a Volkswagen car belonging to Samuel Ramdas, who is Stephanie’s boyfriend, and a report forwarded to the DPP.
After a three-hour session with detectives on Monday afternoon, Mr Murgor said his clients demanded nothing short of justice.
“We were here for further statements and the police have handled us professionally,” he said.
A review of CCTV footage seen by the Nation about the events that day has, however, created confusion about what could have led to the altercation that has trended on social media for 15 days.
Although the twins, through their company Wapi Pay, had initially said that “Paul and Eddie got involved in an attempt to neutralise a confrontation between two women and defend themselves from certain aggressors,” the footage shows that it is one of them who shoved Stephanie at the 10th floor lounge before everything went haywire.
The footage shows one of the twins in a fedora arriving at the counter of the lounge at 2:44am, where he meets Stephanie, who was walking in the opposite direction holding a wine glass. He talks to her briefly before his brother, who is wearing a white T-shirt arrives with Munira.
The new arrival in the white T-shirt dances, passing between Stephanie and his brother, and then takes a seat next to Munira. The conversation between Stephanie and the twin in the fedora lasts for about a minute and she walks away at 2:45am.
She then stops briefly at 2:45am, with 17 seconds past the minute, and faces the twin in the white T-shirt, who is seen throwing his right hand at her, followed by a thumbs-up and saying something. By then, his brother has taken a seat.
At 2:46am, the twin in the white T-shirt pulls his brother to dance at the far right end of the frame, while Munira is seen smoking what looks like an electronic cigarette. At 2:48am the brothers rejoin Munira at the bar.
Two minutes later, at 2:50am Cheryl passes near the counter where the brothers are seated with Munira in the company of a man. There is no conversation between the two groups. Cheryl and the man head to the exit of the lounge.
A minute later, Stephanie arrives at the counter in the company of a man. She engages Eddie, Munira and Paul in what looks like an argument. At some point, Stephanie points at Munira. The twin in the white T-shirt pushes Stephanie and holds both her and the man she was with by their necks.
They all disappear from the view of the camera before reemerging at 2:53am with the twin brother still holding Stephanie and the man she was with by their necks. At this point the security of the hotel intervenes. Stephanie and the man she was with leave the lounge as Munira holds back one of the Ndichu brothers from charging forward while pointing at the leaving couple.
The Ndichus and Munira leave shortly thereafter. They are seen again at 2:57am in the lobby on the ground floor talking to the receptionist, as Munira is standing next to them, looking towards the exit.
Cheryl appears on the video shortly thereafter from the direction of the exit. On seeing her, Munira starts charging towards her, before she is stopped by the twin in the hat. On the clips, two minutes that could have shown what transpired before the ground floor fight began are missing.
At 2:59am Cheryl and Munira are seen fighting, the twin in the T-shirt is also fighting two men at the exit, while his brother roams around the lobby looking for something before joining the fight between Cheryl and Munira.
