Former Tusker Project Fame (TPF) contestant Alvan Gatitu has revealed that he quit his pastoral job to join the popular singing competition show that aired on Citizen TV.
Speaking in an interview with MC Jessy on March 24, Gatitu who has since become a Tik Tok sensation, stated that at the time he got to audition for TPF he had stepped down as a pastor in his church.
"I left for many reasons, but one thing is I did not agree with the church's doctrine. It caused so much damage in my life and I questioned what was the purpose of being used by the church to get the masses when I was having some much turmoil in my life," he disclosed.
Alvan disclosed that in that period he got into drinking and would at times perform while having hangovers.
"I just left and coincidentally a friend of mine handed me a brochure for the singing competition to go and audition," he recalled.
The tik tok star noted that he left early for the auditions and did not tell anyone where he was going. He was eventually picked to star in the show.
He had not even told his parents that he had auditioned and his family got to know he was on the show when his photo appeared in the promo of the show as one of the contestants.
Alvan noted that there was a lot of backlash from the religious circles as to him going to sing for a show that was sponsored by an alcoholic beverage brand.
"My mother was going through so much backlash but I was confident in myself and I told people who questioned my decision that the God in me would see me through," he stated.
He stated that his family and friends came to support him during the live shows and that made him emotional.
After the show ended and the eventual winner Valerie Kimani was crowned, Alvan who came in second, turned back to drinking as he faced more stigma from the church.
He also revealed that Kimani turned him down when he tried to pursue a romantic relationship.
"I go into heavy drinking, I would wake up drunk and go to bed drunk as well. I even got into hard drugs like cocaine," he disclosed.
Gatitu would later travel to South Africa on a road trip before deciding to turn his life around and came back to Kenya.
In 2020, he was back in the limelight where he kicked out of his house after being unable to pay rent. Kenyan came to his rescue where they raised over Ksh2.5 million for him during that period.
Alvan is currently a radio presenter with Trace Radio where he hosts a breakfast show every Monday to Friday from 6 am to 10 am.
