The death of gospel artiste Papa Dennis has exposed the struggles some Kenyan superstars go through.

It's said 'get into a problem and find out who your real friends are' and in the case of these celebs they did find out.

Below are celebs who died poor despite their rise to fame and conquering the limelight.

1. Papa Dennis

The death of Papa Dennis on Saturday night shocked many after his body was discovered in Pangani.

For a man who rose from a random ghetto child to a celebrity Papa had it all.

That is before his contract with Sadat ended.

He was later kicked out of his rented apartment and was a squatter at the Nairobi Records studio in Pangani.

He became depressed and at some point was been spotted around town looking unkempt.

Sadly, his life came to an end on that fateful night when his body was discovered, so did his dreams and aspirations.

2. Mzee Ojwang

For kids born in the '80s and 90's we know how much joy Mzee Ojwang brought to our sitting rooms thanks to his comedic prowess on Vioja Mahakamani.

For a long time, he acted alongside Mama Kayai.

He passed on in July 2015 after succumbing to pneumonia.

Before then he had received treatment for failing eyesight and the government at the time waived his medical bill at KNH.

3. Achieng Abura 

Achieng died on 20th October 2016 at the Kenyatta National Hospital.

Before her death, Achieng had called for 2 fundraisers and people who many would term 'broke' came through for her.

In an interview, she told Jackson Biko (Bikozulu) that she had been struggling for over five years in vain to raise money to take her son to go to the United Kingdom for treatment. He was battling sickle cell anaemia.

That is one "successful" fundraiser, less than ten people turned up.

It's only after her death that everyone wanted to be mentioned alongside her iconic status.

4. Joe Kadenge

Legendary Kenyan footballer Joe Kadenge died at the Meridian hospital in Nairobi.

According to his son Oscar his health had not been good for some time.

For a man of his calibre, Kadenge died poor given that at some point NHIF had to pay off his Ksh 2 million bill.

The irony of it all is that despite living a normal life his burial was budgeted at Ksh 5 million.

5. Njenga Mswahili

The Churchill comedian died on November 2019 after being run over by a train.

Known to many as Njenga Mswahili – real name James Anthony Njenga – his badly mangled body was found on a rail track in Dagoretti.

Njenga was best known for presenting his jokes in Swahili hence the name Mswahili.

Before his death, Njenga had been depressed for some time. Sadly we will never know what were the problems weighing him down.