Popular Mugithi musician Samuel Muchoki, better known as Samidoh, appears to stir controversy wherever he goes. Days after hanging up his police boots and quitting service, the singer has again found himself in the eye of a storm, this time over a grave allegation.
A woman has stepped forward accusing the star of rape. The alleged incident did not occur recently, nor on Kenyan soil, but four years ago in the United States of America, where Samidoh had been on a musical tour.
The woman, identified in court papers by the initials M.R.W., now seeks justice, accusing the Kenyan State of shielding the musician. She has filed a case before the High Court in Nairobi, arguing that despite what her legal team describes as “explosive evidence”, including a documented police report in the United States, Kenyan authorities have failed to investigate or prosecute him.
The woman claims that on the night of November 28, 2021, Samidoh raped her at an Airbnb in Overland Park, Kansas, where he was staying during his tour. Court documents state that earlier that month, Samidoh had requested M.R.W. to show him around during his stay.
“On Sunday, in early November 2021, the petitioner and her sister bought him lunch; thereafter, the petitioner accompanied him to meet an acquaintance in Olathe,” the petition reads in part.
M.R.W. says that later that evening, at Samidoh’s invitation, she went to the Airbnb where he was staying, on the understanding it was simply “just for a drink”.
What followed, she claims, was a nightmare.
Alleged incident in Kansas
“He led me into the bedroom. I resisted and pleaded with him to stop, but he mocked my protestations, ignored my pleas, and, without my consent whatsoever, committed the horrific sexual offence,” she states in an affidavit filed in court, adding that the traumatic event has led to ongoing psychological distress, including panic attacks and suicidal thoughts.
The petitioner recalls observing the time at or about 10:49pm. She claims she confronted him immediately after, whereupon he casually responded in Kikuyu, words which translated in English mean: “I thought you were joking”.
After the incident, she claims, she left immediately, shaken, confused, and numb. “l left at once, drove home in shock, and contacted two close friends. I nevertheless reported to work the next morning, still in a state of numbness and disbelief,” the woman says in an affidavit filed in court.
The court papers show that even after she disclosed to two close friends the next day, she stayed silent for months, afraid of being blamed or dismissed, especially given her alleged rapist’s celebrity status.
“He was a man with fame, fans, and power. I was just me,” she says. “I thought nobody would believe me.”
The 76-page petition details that following the alleged rape, Samidoh maintained contact with the woman between 2021 and 2023, through a disturbing pattern of emotional manipulation, threats, and verbal abuse.
“Between 2021 and 2023, Samidoh maintained a manipulative and coercive presence in the petitioner’s life, oscillating between affected friendliness and psychological abuse, including explicit threats when the petitioner asserted herself,” states MRW’s lawyer, Sunday Memba Mayama.
The court papers describe a complex and coercive dynamic. “There was no relationship, no romance, and no consent, only a trauma bond induced by fear, manipulation, shame, and the petitioner’s search for closure and accountability,” states the papers.
MRW has also submitted screenshots, audio messages, and written communication allegedly evidencing insults, gaslighting, guilt-tripping, denial, and threats received from the singer.
In one message, when the woman brought up the rape and asked for accountability, she alleges that Samidoh dismissed her pain and labeled her a “professional prostitute”, going as far as to suggest that such a person could not be raped.
“There were threats, insults, gaslighting. One time, when I brought up the rape issue, he called me a ‘professional prostitute’ and asked how someone like me could be raped,” her affidavit states.
Police report filed in the U.S.
It was not until late 2023, after two years of therapy and what she describes as “emotional warfare,” that M.R.W. found the strength to file a formal police report in the U.S.
“In November 2023, following therapy and support, the petitioner filed a formal police report with the Overland Park Police Department in the Kansas City metropolitan area under Case No. 2023022021. The case was subsequently submitted to the District Attorney,” her lawyer says.
According to court documents, she submitted digital evidence, including audio recordings, texts, and call logs, to the Overland Park Police Department. “I have preserved audio recordings containing the singer’s admissions which l need to tender as evidence in court,” she says.
The woman adds that she participated fully in the investigation, providing all available evidence and witness information.
However, she alleges that Samidoh never responded to US investigators, despite being in the country multiple times after the incident. “Samidoh did not cooperate, declining to respond to police calls or emails notwithstanding his multiple trips to the United States after the incident. l was informed that further action required District Attorney approval, and the case stalled,” the woman says.
In June 2025, frustrated by the silence, MRW filed a formal complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Nairobi, citing Section 41 of the Sexual Offences Act, which gives Kenyan courts power to try citizens for sexual offences committed abroad.
Despite this, the woman says that no progress has been made – her complaint was not properly recorded, no statements were taken, no investigation file opened, and no request for evidence made under the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) framework with the United States. “There was no OB number. No official statement. No investigation. The police were paralysed, either by inaction or influence. We had no choice, but to go to court,” says lawyer Memba.
Now, in her constitutional petition, the woman accuses multiple state organs, the Inspector-General of Police, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the Attorney General (AG), and the Witness Protection Agency of inaction, delay, and discrimination.
“The first to fourth respondents(IG, DPP, DCI, AG) have failed and/or refused to take the steps required by the Constitution and statute, including timely registration of the complaint, recording of comprehensive statements, forensic preservation and analysis of the petitioner’s digital evidence, MLA requests to the United States, and placing a complete investigation file before the third respondent (DPP) for a decision within a reasonable time,” Memba says.
MRW is asking the High Court to declare that Kenyan police, prosecutors, and the AG have violated her rights under multiple constitutional provisions, including Articles 27 (equality), 28 (dignity), 29 (freedom from violence), and 48 (access to justice). “Their inaction has denied the petitioner the equal protection and equal benefit of the law,” the petition states.
Through her lawyer, MRW argues that the digital evidence risks being tampered with or lost and that the former police officer could interfere with or intimidate her and the witnesses she intends to line up against him.
MRW is seeking several urgent court orders aimed at breaking the institutional inertia that has surrounded her case since the alleged incident.
Among the reliefs sought is a directive requiring the police and DCI to open a formal investigation within seven days. The petition also calls on the court to order the relevant authorities, particularly the AG, to initiate a formal Mutual Legal Assistance MLA request to U.S. law enforcement within 14 days.
This request would seek the transfer of forensic evidence, official police records, and witness statements from the Overland Park Police Department in Kansas, where the alleged rape was initially reported.
Further, the petitioner wants the court to require the DCI to compile and submit a complete investigation file to the DPP within 30 to 60 days.
Finally, the petition asks the court to compel the DPP to issue a reasoned prosecutorial decision within 30 days after receiving the investigation file.
Not the only one
In one of the most haunting lines from her court papers, MRW says she believes she is “not the only woman Samidoh has sexually exploited and abused. “I believe the interested party (Samidoh) is dangerous, and I am not the only victim,” she states, adding that “his confidence, connections, and mobility have enabled him to act with impunity.”
She says that she’s not motivated by revenge, but to vindicate her rights and to prevent further harm to other women. “I want a system that protects women. That listens to us. That doesn’t make us fight this hard to be believed.”
The matter is now pending a hearing before Justice Lawrence Mugambi of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division of the High Court.
At the time of publishing this story, Samidoh had not responded publicly to the rape allegations or filed any responses to the lawsuit, and no charges have been filed against him.
The petition names Samidoh only as an interested party, acknowledging his constitutional right to a fair hearing, and seeks no direct orders against him at this stage, only that he be notified and granted the opportunity to respond, if investigative steps are taken.
Samidoh is not only a famous mugithi musician but also a former serving officer of the Kenya Police Service, a dual role that has brought him both fame and scrutiny.
Earlier this year, he was declared a deserter by police command after failing to report back to duty following international tours.
He obtained Sh200,000 anticipatory bail to prevent arrest and was ordered to surrender his passport pending internal investigations.
Now, the case brings a new dimension to the controversies swirling around him.