Paul Ndichu and Eddie Ndichu, the founders of payment solutions company Wapi Pay have been dealt a blow after one of their major sponsors, Kepple Africa Ventures, pulled out.
Paul and Eddie have been accused of assaulting two women in Nairobi’s Ole Sereni Hotel after turning down their sexual advances.
In a statement, Kepple Africa announced that they were cutting ties with Wapi Pay over the allegations against its founders.
“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 company said.
Kepple has invested in at least 96 companies across 11 African countries.
This comes moments after Janet Mbugua, Eddie’s wife, condemned all forms of gender-based violence, hours after the allegations surfaced.
In an Instagram post, Janet called for an end to gender-based violence, calling for justice “irrespective of who is involved.”
“I am saddened by the increasing incidents of Gender-Based violence. Over the past decade, I have joined my voice in efforts to end #GBV. I condemn all forms of GBV irrespective of who is involved and will continue to speak out against it. We have laws in Kenya and justice must prevail,”
said Mbugua.
In a statement on Tuesday, Wapi Pay defended Eddie and Paul, saying that the two were trying to neutralize a confrontation between two women and to defend themselves from certain aggressors.
“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 hue events that 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.,”
Wapi Pay said.
Wapi Pay said that the matter had been reported to the police and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further investigation and resolution.
Wapipay platform supports organizations and institutions in processing of bulk payments to multiple mobile platforms.
The company also offers advanced analytics and reporting to organizations to aid faster and better decision-making.
