‘Akothee’s a dead broke pretender’: Musician responds to sister’s ‘expose’

Kenyan musician Esther Akoth, popularly known as Akothee, has called out her sister, Elseba Awuor Kokeyo, popularly known as Cebbie, for allegedly being a backstabber.

Akothee took to her official Instagram page on Wednesday, July 22 to indirectly allege that Cebbie was not happy for her, when she (Akothee) succeeded on many fronts.

According to the Give It To Me hit-maker, her sister has always been the manipulative type, who not only feels entitled to Akothee’s wealth, but also believes that the award-winning musician should shoulder every family responsibility.

Akothee made the remarks after screenshots of Cebbie’s alleged conversation with her claimed former lover, a married man, were shared on blogger Edgar Obare’s Instagram page on Tuesday, July 21.

The conversations took place in early December 2019, after Akothee allegedly collapsed while performing on stage in Kisumu.

Below is a transcript of the screenshot messages said to have been shared between Cebbie and her alleged lover:

Cebbie: Baby, let me ask you: do you think this sibling of mine (Akothee) has a right-thinking mind?

Her alleged lover: What is she talking about? Who are the nine adopted children?

Cebbie: She normally pretends that she is picking orphans with the intention of helping them. She, thereafter, abandons them because she doesn’t have any solutions to their problems. She doesn’t have any goals she wishes to achieve.

Her alleged lover: [Adds laughing face emoji]. Then she must be manipulative.

Cebbie: She is mad.

Her alleged lover: She is getting great comments from people [about her alleged good deeds]. I guess it makes her feel good [about herself].

Cebbie: But she has nothing at all, [in form of finances]. She can’t even pay her children’s school fees. She is already struggling. My worry is that one day, she will be smoked out. She has chased away some orphans she had taken in under the pretext that she would assist them. I already know of two boys, whom she abandoned. There is nothing [substantial] going on in their lives. She picked them in 2017 and said she would employ them at Akothee Safaris. I am telling you the boys did not even enroll for driving or basic computer classes. [Adds laughing face emoji].

Her alleged lover: This is so, so sad.

Cebbie: There is nothing special about her. Recently, the said-adopted children were subjected to hunger till they came to know about her real attributes.

Her alleged lover: Imagine, she will soon be smoked out. I am shocked at learning that she is not as philanthropic as she’d want us to believe. Even at Karen Hospital, where she was admitted [after collapsing on stage in Kisumu on November 30, 2019], the truth will come out.

Cebbie: True.

After the conversations were leaked, Akothee took to her official Instagram page to indirectly respond to her sister’s claims, stating that Cebbie has always been manipulative and jealous of her. Below is Akothee’s response to her sibling:

“I am still a mother and I will always be that mother. My heart betrays me all the time, from one corner to the other. I have a lot going on in my life. Constantly, I am left with family bills to clear, be it my mom, dad, grandparents. It's always about: ‘have you called Akoth to sort that out?’ Whatever it takes, it's all me; one time, a friend of mine told me: ‘Esther, all this money you spend on your family, please keep it for your children; they will need it later’. That was Aunty Judi @judithleichum [who said that], but I don't listen.

“When people wanted to own my life, and jump onto my success, using Akothee Foundation, which was hardly a year old, with no sponsors or donors, as a way of hurting me, I had to put it on hold and concentrate on my life and my children!

“It hurts when you do things innocently and people feel entitled. The only way to protect yourself from users is to say ‘sorry, I do not have’. I have done more than enough for my family! I know some of them feel bad when they see me support people I don’t know, but the truth is I get fulfilled when I help those that are in need and expect nothing.

“Since I stopped dishing out money and attending to family problems apart from my parents and grandparents, I am hardly loved.

“My family has no idea of my wealth or my whereabouts. Even if I die today, they have no idea who will handle my Will or bills. They are guests in my life. I respect and love my family very much. The only way to keep the relationship, is to love them from afar since I have no option but to love them.

“I was in Karen Hospital for 2 weeks [in early December 2019]. I didn’t see any of my family members apart from my children, friends, employees, fans and my [health] insurance company. This is enough for an intelligent person to understand [which group of people genuinely cares for you]. Thanks for alerting me [about who my real friends are]. Now I know my circle [of] friends.”

All the above allegations against Akothee came out after a city woman accused Cebbie of snatching her husband late last year.

To prove her claims, the woman shared with blogger Edgar Obare screenshots of alleged WhatsApp conversations between Cebbie and the city woman’s husband. It is in the conversations that Cebbie and her alleged lover are said to have discussed Akothee’s character and financial capability.