A handful of female celebrities in Kenya survived childhood sexual abuse and are bold enough to talk about their traumatizing encounters.
It's not always easy to speak up about sexual assault. Talking about such harrowing encounters usually bring the whole experience back to the present for the victim, whether they are celebrities or not.
Shame can be attached to cases of sexual abuse even though being assaulted is not the victim's fault under any circumstances.
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Celebrities affected
While most celebrities who were sexually abused in their childhood do not talk about it openly, a few had become an inspiration when they talked about it in the media.
Some female celebrities even lost their virginities in harrowing rape encounters, while others were molested by relatives and people who were well known to them.
Brenda Jons
Instagram comedienne Brenda Jons has been very open about her traumatizing childhood, narrating how she was sexually abused multiple times by people close to her.
She lost her virginity after being defiled by an uncle when she was five. The comedienne couldn't do anything or tell anyone because the uncle had threatened to kill her.
Unfortunately, Brenda Jons was once again raped at 12 by the same uncle. While narrating the incident, she recalled how her uncle stuffed socks in her mouth and raped her again.
The rapist uncle was a praise and worship leader in church. No one would believe Brenda Jons if she reported him.
At the age of 18, Brenda Jons was once again raped by a pastor who gave her Ksh200 to make sure she didn't get pregnant.
The celebrity comedienne was also assaulted at least twice by people she met in church. She developed an intense hatred for men and consequently opted to be a lesbian after her being abused multiple times.
Brenda Obath
Media personality Brenda Obath is among female celebrities who lost her virginity through a horrible rape ordeal. She was gang-raped when she was only 13 years old and a virgin.
The Asylum Radio owner and founder attended a party where her drink was spiked and the culprit together with five other men took turns raping her.
"He went into the house and brought two glasses and I drank it and immediately felt oozy. My first instinct was to find a bathroom or at least somewhere I can lay, so he walked me into the bedroom.
"He goes on to rape me. Then another man comes in and this happens about five times because there were six guys involved. At that point is when I realised there is little I could do, so I just waited till they were done.
"I heard my 'friend' argue with one guy, saying "you didn't tell me she was a virgin", and he was upset about it. She comes in, got me dressed and we went home.
"In the morning, I took a hot shower but I was in physical pain, only to see I was covered in bite marks from my neck to just above my waist wondering what was going on.
"The next week I walked myself to the closest VCT centre and told the lady I need the test. She gave me emergency antiretroviral drugs, and I never went back after three months, but luckily I didn't get anything from that bad experience," Brenda Obath narrated during an interview with Word Is.
Annitah Raey
Radio personality Annitah Raey had a troubled childhood. She ran away from home when she was only 13 years old and fell prey to sexual predators.
The former radio presenter narrated her encounter being raped at the age of 15 in a post on social media in February 2018.
"I ran away from home at 13, I was raped at 15. I got married to a wife batterer at 17. Had my son at 19. Got divorced at 21. I have slept on the streets. I have slept hungry. I know what it means to lack. I have cried myself to sleep so many times I lost count. I have been in a hospital bed for six weeks due to depression and ulcers.
"I have tried suicide five times. I have been so broken I never thought I would see another day. But look at me. Look at me and understand that when God wants to use you to glorify himself then he will do exactly that. I am a loving testimony that when God Says Yes. Nobody can say no. So before you pass judgment walk a mile in my shoe," Annitah Raey wrote.
Black Cinderella
Former Nairobi Diaries actress Maureen Imbai alias Black Cinderella opened up about being raped when she was 15 years old while speaking during an interview on Radio Jambo in November 2020.
The socialite revealed that she was first raped by a taxi driver when she was only 15 and then again when she was pregnant with her daughter.
"I was five months pregnant and I had nowhere to sleep. I was sleeping at Jeevanjee gardens when I got raped. I had broken up with the governor and had returned his car and went to date my baby daddy. So I couldn't ask him for help.
"My mum had nine kids and she was sick so I couldn't go back to her place. I had friends but most had excuses whenever I asked for somewhere to sleep. One friend told me she could house my suitcase but she couldn't house me. I had not exposed myself. I never thought anyone would want to rape a pregnant woman but it happened."
"I went and got tested to ensure my baby and I were ok. That incident taught me a lot, I had been raped again. I was first raped at age 15 by a taxi driver. I had done a mistake in school and was given a suspension," Black Cinderella narrated.
Nana Owiti
Nana Owiti, the wife of celebrity rapper King Kaka, was sexually assaulted her a relative. She first opened up about the ordeal in April 2021 on her YouTube channel narrating how a relative used to touch her inappropriately when she was about nine years old.
"There is this cousin that my mom really trusted. Any time she would send food back home, she would send this cousin of hers. So my mom trusted this man to share beds with me.
"The first day we went to sleep, I remember feeling that the only person I trusted sleeping with was my grandpa at home in the village. So this man at night touches me inappropriately, and I knew it was wrong and I tell him to stop. I was in class 3, that's around 9 years as well.
So I ask him why are you doing this and he says 'si hata wewe unishike (why don't you also touch me). Then he told me 'if you tell your mom utaniona'.
"We (Nana and her mother) didn't have a relationship growing up. She was very strict. She was just a cop but I totally understand because she had me when she was around 16 and she had to go back to school. My mom couldn't stay with me in Nairobi because cops were not allowed to have kids back then. Even her friends knew I was her small sister. I would even call her by her real name Wanza.
"So the next day, I don't know how to tell my mother. One day I gather courage…I tell her 'mom nanii ananichunachuna usiku (he 'pinches' me at night).
And she jokingly told him 'wewe kwanini unanichunia mtoto, usinichunie mtoto (you why do you pinch my daughter, don't pinch her) and that was it. And at night it was the same cycle. I dint tell anyone up until I was pregnant with my son and that's when I told King Kaka," Nana Owiti narrated.
Nana said she spoke about the abuse to the public because she wanted to heal.
"This is like a trauma I have carried for so many years and I was telling King as the year began that I definitely need to see a therapist concerning this. I want to be able to forgive him not because he deserves it but because I deserve peace. I want to break away from his jaws mentally. From one parent to another. Pay close attention before it's too expensive. Teach your children the boundaries," she said.
