Wapi Pay co-founder Eddie Ndichu has stepped down as a board member of the Association of Fintechs in Kenya (AFK).
The development has been announced the Association in a press statement.
This follows the allegations that Mr. Ndichu assaulted a female reveler in Nairobi’s high-end hotel, Ole Sereni.
A video of the fracas has since been circulated across social media platforms to a wide outrage.
Here is the full statement from AFK:
The Board of the Association of Fintechs in Kenya (hereinafter “the Board’) takes note of the unfortunate allegations made against our board member Eddie Ndichu following an altercation at a city hotel on Saturday the 17th of October 2021.
The allegations are now subject to public discourse, particularly on social media platforms.
On the 19th of October, the Board convened a special meeting during which Mr. Ndichu stepped down as a board member pending formal investigations into the matter.
The Board takes this opportunity to state that it regrets the current circumstances and does not in any way condone gender-based violence or violence of any kind.
The Association remains firmly committed to its objective of ensuring utmost integrity and advocating for the wellbeing of the fintech community and technology industry at large.
Earlier today, Wapi Pay released a press statement defending the actions of Ndichu as self-defense. The release has since been dissected and appears to have exacerbated the event altogether.
To be clear, Paul and Eddie got involved in an attempt to neutralize a confrontation between two women and to defend themselves from certain aggression – read part of Wapi Pay’s response.
Also, one of the firms that took part in Wapi Pay’s pre-seed fund drive, Kepple Africa, has pulled out from the firm. It is not known how much the company invested in Wapi Pay.
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 for such conduct and announce that we will relinquish all the rights of our investment stake in Wapi Pay – Kepple Africa in a statement.
Eddie Ndichu has been in fintech space for an extended period, having led the same arm in KCB.
He left the bank to join Opera Kenya, where he headed the company’s operations in Kenya.
Wapi Pay was his next venture after leaving Opera.
