The mother of Wendy Waeni, a young gymnast who made brave revelations about her exploitation, during an interview with Jeff Koinange, has come out to shed more light about the situation.
Magdaline Syombua was speaking to reporters from Citizen TV who visited the two on Thursday at their home in Huruma, Nairobi.
Syombua stated that many Kenyans asked why she lived that kind of life yet her child is famous.
"Out there people know me as Wendy's mother. They know me very well but they keep asking why I still live here," she spoke.
She also recounted meeting the controversial ex-manager, Joe Mwangi, and the deal they entered into in 2014.
"He told me that he would arrange performances for Wendy and if her talent was discovered, he would know how to work with her from there," she told the journalist.
"At one point I asked him, are there no proceeds from all these places you've been taking Wendy to perform at?
"He responded that all this time, he was only promoting Wendy and giving her exposure which didn't translate into monetary gain," she explained.
Syombua also disclosed that after the Wednesday evening interview elicited many public reactions, he resorted to threatening her.
"Now that the situation has boiled over, he threatened me. He stated that he was no longer willing to pay for Wendy's passport adding that the person who took us to Citizen TV should take care of everything," she told reporters.
Efforts by the media house to reach Joe were futile as their calls went unanswered.
On learning of the allegations on Wednesday evening, Mwangi took to social media to respond to the accusations by Wendy, terming them as false.
Mwangi strongly denied ever traversing the world with the 14-year-old at any point in her gymnastics career.
"On the video (JKL), it has been said that I (Joe) has travelled all over the world with Wendy, the fact is I have never ever left this country in the company of Ms Waeni.
Despite the talent manager denying reports, Citizen TV revealed footage of Joe and Wendy meeting Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
When Wendy appeared on Jeff Koinage's show she painfully narrated how her former manager had exploited her, even misusing her social media platforms to insult people, earning her backlash.
"I have been performing all over the world Jeff. I know you know that. Right now, I live in Huruma because of Joe Mwangi. Jeff to be sincere with you, I've been performing all over like Rwanda, Germany, China and I haven't got a single penny. My mum is really suffering now as we talk. I know she's working right now, she sells sweets. I live in a single room in Huruma now Jeff," she spoke.
