Imagine your biological mother giving you an ultimatum, that the only way you can live in the same house with her, is if you make sure you never refer to her as mother.
As fictitious as it may sound, Sande Mayua, the Kisumu hawker who wowed Kenyans with his creative way of selling second-hand clothes, has opened up on how his mother forced him to call her big sister.
Speaking in a recent interview with YouTuber Lynn Ngugi, Sande narrated how tough his life was while growing up and the challenges he went through before breaking even.
He narrated that his predicaments began when his mother abandoned him, forcing him to live with his grandmother for years.
“My mother just left one day with my sister and I was home alone. I never knew where she went, and I was left with my grandmother, the person I began calling mother.”
“My mother left me for several years, and it got to a point where I almost passed on because my whole body, including my head had been infested with jiggers," Sande narrated.
Sande proceeded to narrate that after several years, his late aunt came to visit him and when she saw him, she broke down since she could barely recognise him.
He narrated that his aunt decided to go with him to her place, but she could occasionally hide him from people until he was back in shape.
“I had to be hidden from the public for a whole month because I was looking so bad. Nobody could even stand the sight of me.
“My aunt used to hire someone to wash me once in a while, and that person would wash and scrub my whole body with salt so that we get rid of the jiggers.
“I remember one day, after my mother left, she came to look for me but the moment she saw me, she didn't even think twice about going back to where she had come from,” he added.
Sande proceeded to narrate that after some time, he went back to staying with his grandmother, and that is when he learnt that his mother had been married to another man in Malindi.
In his narration, he stated that his wish was to live with his mother but whenever he brought that issue up, he was told it was practically impossible.
One day, however, his mother accepted but on condition that he does not refer to her as his mother.
“I was craving a mother's love, and being told to call her my sister just so she may keep a man wasn’t a big deal to me. I just wanted to live with her in the same house, and I agreed to do it.
“She called me her brother, and when she had another child, I became an uncle. I couldn't compromise because I did not want to go back to my grandmother’s place,” Sande stated.
It, however, got to a point when he completed school and his mother sent him away because of calling out her indecent behaviour. It is at this point that he ventured into the second-hand clothes business.
Sande, however, says that he forgave his mother and understands that harsh circumstances pushed her into doing anything she could to sustain them.
He says that although he is famous, he is not rich, but that does not bother him.
Sande noted that he is a rapper and that music is a dream he is pursuing.
