Airbnb Landlord Pushes South African Filmmaker Down The Stairs In Late Checkout Dispute

A South African filmmaker who was seen in shocking video being pushed down the stairs by an enraged Airbnb landlord in Amsterdam on Sunday broke her silence, suggesting that the attack was unjustified and racially motivated.

Sibahle Nkumbi, who also goes by the name Steve, said in her first interview since the disturbing incident that she suffered a concussion and wants the man allegedly responsible for her injuries held to account, although she is skeptical it will ever happen.

Nkumbi acknowledged that she and her friends were late to check out but insisted that she did nothing to deserve being treated in such a brutal manner and argued that had she been white, things would have turned out differently.


It has since emerged that the man seen in the video hurling Nkumbi down the stairs could face an attempted murder charge.

The video then shows the landlord walking down the stairs and calling for someone to call an ambulance, ostensibly realizing to his own horror what he has just done.

Ms Nkumbi is studying in Bern, Switzerland, and was in Amsterdam to write an article about an art exhibit.

In an interview released on YouTube, a visibly bruised and shaken Nkumbi said that on the day of the incident, she and her companions were running late and their landlady came ringing their doorbell and demanding they pack up their belongings and get out.

‘She stated that this is not acceptable, you guys need to pack and leave now. And I was like, "Yes, give us a few minutes to pack" and I apologized profusely for us being late and we were getting ready to leave.

‘And that's when she came back a few minutes later with the husband and he was banging the door.

She then went on, 'As I'm resisting against the wall, he's trying to get me to his position and eventually I lost grip of the wall because it's a wall, there's nothing to hold on to. That's when I flew down, all the way down.’

Showing off her bruises under her arms from where the man allegedly grabbed her, the filmmaker, who also has a concussion, added: ‘The last thing I remember was when I realized he was going to throw me down there.

‘Flying down the stairs, I don’t remember, I passed out and woke up in hospital.’

In Sunday's interview, Nkumbi said she wants the landlord held legally responsible for what happened to her.

‘It's my wish justice is served somehow,’ Nkumbi said. ‘[I] never experienced anything like this before in my life.

‘You would expect it from South Africa where racism is visible. You come here, you get attacked like that... I didn’t expect it at all. I'm actually quite disappointed... when will we wake up? People are people.’