Kenyans are up in arms after a Russian TikTokker recorded himself picking up multiple Kenyan women, recording his interaction with them and posting the videos on his account.
The ideos which went viral on Friday, February 13, showed the foreigner approaching women randomly in public places such as malls and supermarkets.
After exchanging contacts, he would then invite them over to his short-stay apartment, where he recorded his interaction with them.
While the videos did not show any intimate interactions, a section of Kenyans argued that it cannot be completely ruled out.
Amid the debate on whether what he did was morally right or socially acceptable, questions were raised about how foreigners treat Kenyan women.
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Veteran Journalist Ferdinand Omondi pointed out that the foreigner violated the rights of the women he was with by recording them.
"Adults make personal choices every day, but no such personal decision cancels the right to privacy, and grants one permission to secretly record and expose someone.
"Consent to sex is not consent to filming. Consent to filming is not consent to publication," he stated.
Omondi criticised Kenyans who resorted to itim blaming and even ridiculing the women, stating that such comments not only blur the line but also normalise exploitation.
Some Kenyans questioned why the women accepted the TikTokker's invitation to his residence amid concerns over an increase in femicide.
Kenyans of a contrary opinion argued that there was a chance that the TikTokker only needed company and that nothing bad happened to the women he recorded videos with.
"He probably just needs company. I would not mind if he invited me next, though, he does not seem that bad to me," a user named Zoe stated.
New evidence emerged that the perpetrator had done the same with women in Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana. He has been identified as Yaytseslav.
The uproar comes barely months after Kenyans demanded the deportation of an American YouTuber after he made derogatory comments about Kenyan women.
