Today I would like us to discuss online dating in Kenya, and more specifically why young women are being murdered in Airbnbs in Nairobi Kenya. We will focus on why online dating has recently become so dangerous for Kenyan women.
But before we get into that, let’s look at why online dating in Kenya has become so popular in recent years. In my opinion, during COVID-19 we saw the rise of couples who resulted from a dating app, because globally people were stuck indoors, bored, and looking for ways to interact with other people virtually.
I Think TikTok Has Played A Major Role In Promoting Online Dating In Kenya
So Kenya was not left behind in this phenomenon. Also, we saw people posting on TikTok and the trend of interracial couples was born. A lot of young Kenyan women started posting cute videos of themselves with their “Muzungus” That encouraged others to follow suit, and before we knew it, it had become a frenzy of women showing their desperation to find ” Muzungus” on dating apps.
And before long, pages started cropping up on TikTok of people promising to connect Kenyan African women with Wazungus, and lots of women were scammed. Now, because the whole point of looking for muzungus was so one can get rich quick, predators seized this opportunity to lure young women by finding them online and sending them some cash.
Once a woman sees the potential of getting rich quick and being able to impress people on social media with a lavish lifestyle, then she is ready to meet this ” rich man” and that’s how young women are finding themselves in dangerous situations.
Based on the recent incidents in Nairobi where we lost two young women in Airbnbs, its clear that women don’t realize just how dangerous it is to arrange a private meeting with a person you have only met online.
Online Dating In Kenya, We Should’t Be Too Quick To Judge
Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way judging those young ladies because I used to be young and reckless too. Furthermore, I find it tasteless and very disrespectful of some people especially women, and to be more specific, women of a particular age sitting on their high chairs judging and speaking evil of these young women who lost their lives in the most horrific ways.
It’s very easy for us to judge, and act as if we sleep in heaven and come to earth in the morning. The truth of the matter is, we don’t really know what circumstances led these young women to those Airbnbs. Yes of course young people are under a lot of pressure because they want to show off on social media, and they want easy money but, we mustn’t forget that there are other circumstances that could have led these women to those Airbnbs.
Online Dating In Kenya And How It Has Helped Kenyan Women
Many Kenyan women have benefited from online dating, myself included. Websites like Afrointroductions, have been popular in Kenya for years, and actually, a lot of interracial couples are a result of dating apps.
Online dating does present opportunities for people from all over the world to find each other and create beautiful unions, but that’s not to say that you are completely safe because you are only chatting with someone on your phone.
Safety Measures In Online Dating
It’s paramount to make sure you have safety measures in place as you communicate with people online especially people that you plan to meet in person for the purpose of having a romantic relationship with. Privacy is another thing that Kenyan women on dating apps are not taking seriously.
I recently spoke to a woman who told me that when she created her profile on a dating app, she included her phone number in the bio, someone contacted her and she couldn’t figure out how he got hold of her number, it wasn’t until the man said that he got her number from the dating app.
Another issue that is putting Kenyan women in dangerous situations when it comes to online dating is the fact that they have very high expectations of the men they are meeting online, and in my opinion, that’s how these predators have managed to convince our young women that they are indeed what the women are looking for.
Online Dating In Kenya Money Is A Big Problem
So they send them little money here and there before meeting in person, and that makes the woman think, well if he has been sending me money even before meeting in person if I meet him then I will get even more money. That in my opinion is what is making these women neglect all safety measures and go meet these men in private places.
Unfortunately most African women and more specifically Kenyan women believe that the way of a man shows that he cares for you, or he loves you, is by supporting you financially and more specifically sending you money. So once a man sends money the woman throws caution out the window.
This is a very dangerous mentality. You cannot trust someone simply because they have sent you a few shillings on your Mpesa. As we have seen, these criminals sent a few shillings but they had a plan to get that money tenfold. According to the police report the first victim was ordered to transfer all the money she had onto the assailant’s phone.
Conclusion
As I have mentioned, online dating does work, and yes, there are many success stories mine included, I met my husband on a website called International Cupid back in 2014, so yes, it does work, but one has to navigate online dating with caution.
One must be careful, and must not share details of the exact place where they work or live, because by doing this, someone could track you down, also it’s not safe to disclose the addresses of your family members lest you put them in danger too.
I would like to read your comments about this issue, please tell me do you think our Kenyan young ladies are so desperate for riches and a “soft life” that they are willing to do anything including risking their lives?
Please leave your comments below.
Thank you for your time.
Rose
