'It was embarrassing' Dj Shiti recalls his mum being thrown out over rent arrears

Piece by: Maureen Waruinge

03 November 2022

• The Comedian said his mother sold fish and his dad was a taxi driver

• His parents faced rent arrears a lot and locked out of their house

In an interview with Mwende Macharia on the EMM Online Tv podcast, DJ Shiti shared how brokeness made him determined to succeed in his trade.

His mother was a fish trader, who struggled to put food on the table and pay rent. Many a time, the family would be kicked out for not paying rent.

The humiliation his mother faced made Shiti vow to do something about it.

He landed a brand deal with Star Times

"hiyo ndio birth ya maajabua kulipuka" Shiti described his joy at appearing on billboards around the country and more so Nakuru his home town.

"reason they wanted it so much in Nakuru was because my mother was a fish trader, and we had no home ocha, so my mum is really old right now, she is 65 years old, my dad is 71, and me being the last born, I was the last hope "

Everyone was banking on him being successful and taking care of the family. He told how his mother was burdened to take care of his nephews and nieces, yet she was broke.

"Our second born got children before marriage, then my elder sister in Dubai sent her children to live with my mum"

The burden bothered Dj Shiti

"So those are close to four nieces and nephews being taken care of by my mother, na mother na buda saa hiyo wako kwa plot"

Shiti recalled how his mother used to be shamed as a fish trader in the market and this he witnessed and felt bad.

The shame towards his mother affected Shiti who told Mwende Macharia that

"dharau ilikuwa ni nyingi sometimes unapitia hapo unapata kuna wamama wengine hapo who were doing better and being taken care of by their well to do children.

Those women looked down on my mum.

There is day I went there and heard a story being told before I became famous and rich kabla mambo haijafunguka, mtu ndio anapiga stori but mother ndio alikuwa analengwa"

He continued

"That person was proudly talking about their house being built compared to my mum living in a plot, and she is elderly.

That fact bothered me so much that she was living in a plot. That is the thing that motivated me to swear that she would never live like that and I would never go back to Nakuru until I made it"

The Real House helps of Kawangware actor painfully disclosed that his mum was kicked out often by the landlord for rent arrears

" It was so embarrassing our house kept being locked every time until it forced my dad to deal with the situation spiritually."

How much was he paid by star times? "ilikuwa pesa nzuri " (It was good money) without disclosing the amount.

The money sorted out the family's financial situation

"ilisaidia jamii I moved my mum from Nakuru to an affluent location"