Stephen Mwangi: The Family’s Black Sheep
Stephen Mwangi Muriithi has gone through many ups and downs. He has tried his hand in various businesses with equal measure of failure and success; he’s been married, divorced and remarried, and bad blood runs between him and his parents. He takes MWAURA MUIGANA through a narration of his unhappy life STEPHEN MWANGI.
“The evening of April 16, 2013 still lingers on my mind. I was a desolate soul as I travelled from Embu to my sister’s house in Nairobi. I hoped to be there for a few days while planning my next move. I also needed a shoulder to cry on after falling out with my parents and moving out of home. I thought my sister’s home would provide me with an opportunity to clear my head. However, before I had even settled down my brother-in-law shot the first salvo demanding to know if I participated in devil worshipping. I was astounded.
We got into a heated confrontation with my sister, as she demanded that I accept practicing devil worship and seek God’s forgiveness and salvation. Her husband emphasised that there was no gain in devil worship and riches achieved through this evil would bring me no joy. Shocked by their accusations, I moved out of their house feeling that it was no longer a place of solace. It was further disheartening to learn that my parents were the source of the accusation.
A PROBLEMATIC CHILDHOOD…
Since childhood I was never my parents’ favourite child. They considered me stubborn, naughty and big-headed and often blamed me for any wrong committed at home. Their beatings were so severe that when I was in class three, I contemplated suicide by drowning myself in a river near our home. From an early age I discovered my talent in singing and writing. My first article was published in 1982 by a local Catholic newspaper in Nyeri when I was in class three.
By the time I was through with primary education I wanted to join a local polytechnic to develop various trades alongside developing my writing and singing skills. However, my parents insisted that I join secondary school and so in 1988, I reluctantly enrolled at Kamuiru High in Kirinyaga County. I continued nurturing my singing talent and brought together a group of peers to form a band called Splashers.
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