By Lucky Sidney
A 26-year-old man claiming to be South African was arrested at a luxury hotel in Westlands, Nairobi, after being found with a 17-year-old schoolgirl who had been reported missing last month. The minor, a Nairobi school student, was allegedly lured through the dating app Tinder.
The teenager had reportedly downloaded Tinder after encouragement from a classmate. Shortly after creating her profile, she matched with a man identifying himself as Bradley Zwane, who claimed to be operating from a Westlands hotel.
Days later, the girl disappeared from home, causing great distress to her family. Her mother said, “When my daughter disappeared, I didn’t sleep the entire night, I was so afraid. I thought she had been kidnapped or worse.” The following morning, the mother learned from her daughter’s friend that the two had met up. She immediately reported the matter to Kibra Police Station.
Police investigations traced the girl to the Westlands hotel. A search of Zwane’s hotel room uncovered five Kenyan passports—four brand new and one with recent travel stamps from South Africa and Russia. Several used condoms were also found, raising serious concerns.
Zwane claimed he believed the girl was an adult, stating, “I asked her how old she was and she said 18, as stated on her Tinder profile. I asked for her ID, and she joked that it was a 4. She insisted she was 18 and said her birthday was yesterday, that she had finished high school and was waiting to join university.”
Despite these claims, questions remain about how a minor was allowed access to a hotel that requires valid identification for entry. Zwane also sought to explain the passports, saying they belonged to a company manager currently in Europe and were not supposed to be with him.
Authorities are now investigating Zwane’s links to an alleged international betting company and the broader exploitation of online platforms like Tinder by predators.
The victim’s mother pleaded emotionally, “That man called me and begged me, ‘Please don’t ruin my daughter’s life.’ But when I looked at her—she’s just 17. If anything had happened, how could he live with himself? Just let her be.”
Zwane remains in custody at Kibra police station, facing charges including defilement as investigations continue.
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