Nairobi Hotel Frees Kenyan Student Detained over Sh45,000 Quarantine Bill

PrideInn Hotel in Nairobi has released a 20-year-old Kenyan student who had been detained at the facility for failing to pay a bill amounting to Sh45,000.

The student; Mayombe Odubah had been quarantined at the high-end hotel after she returned to the country from abroad last week.

Speaking to Nairobi News, Ms. Odubah claimed she was forcefully taken to the high-end hotel by police after the government announced that all travelers coming from overseas must be isolated in designated facilities for 14 days over coronavirus.

The law student at Middlesex University in Slic-en-slac, Mauritius added that she was taken there despite explaining to police and the hotel’s management that she could not afford the Sh9,000 daily bill at the facility. 

“Most passengers refused to go to the hotel but police forced and threatened us,” she explained.

She added: “I spoke to the management and informed them I didn’t have the money. A Mr. Amusala told me to spend the night because I wasn’t allowed to sleep at the lobby at Sh7,500 for the night and allow my matter to be handled the following day. He has since stopped picking my calls. I have since been transferred to JKUAT, which is cheaper, but the hotel has refused to release me. My parents cannot afford this cost. I am worried.”

On Monday, Ms. Odubah said the hotel management agreed to free her after her parents paid part of the Sh45,000 bill.

“I have been transferred to another place. My parents got to an agreement with the hotel management and paid Sh15,000,” she said.