Ex-KBC Actor Opens Up On How Fame Ruined His Life

Former KBC actor Ken Ambani laid bare how his time in the limelight has returned to haunt his life.

Ambani, who in his heydays acted in KBC's Tausi show, revealed that he is at times filled with regret about the path his life took after he was exposed to the limelight.

Speaking to The Standard on Sunday, January 12, the 49-year-old former heartthrob narrated that getting into the screens was one of the things he could have undone if he had the opportunity to. 

Veteran actor Ken Ambani (left) feted at the African Prestigious Awards (APA) on April 14, 2018.

"If there was one thing I could change, it would probably be getting into public life. It is disheartening and painful when you become a target. You hear stories about you that you cannot even believe," Ambani was quoted.

He narrated that even though he loved what he did and what he was still doing, there were times when things got so difficult for him that he would consider getting away from everything happening around him with a view to starting life afresh.

"I have thought of leaving my job, leaving the country and going somewhere unknown to start life anew. I even told my mother that, and she was very surprised to hear it. But that isn’t to say I don’t love what I do. I really do. And I work on it every day," he revealed.

Ambani played the role of Baraza in Tausi, a playboy, and a role that he narrated many learned to associate him with years after the show ended.

Such perceptions, he narrated, had at times pushed him to the edge since he found it hard to actually live up to the expectations that people had of him.

"The show shaped people’s perception of me. They thought I was a ‘player’ thanks to Baraza’s character. The expectation was that I am a macho-man and that often translates to I do not have feelings. Do you ever wonder why Robin Williams committed suicide? Or Whitney Houston abused drugs?" he posed.

He revealed that many of the people he met found it hard to believe that he was not the character he portrayed on sceen.

Kibwana Onguso, the producer, William Sakwa Nyende a cameraman and Ashina Kibibi, who wrote and acted in Tausi which premiered 25 years ago. William Sakwa and Kibibi are since reported dead.

In his life, he narrated that he had learned the key lesson that he could only count on himself if he was to ever get ahead in all his endeavors.

"People can show concern but the only person who can make you who you want to be is you. Also, there are very few people you can trust. It has been my biggest mistake so far; trusting people too much.

"People will come all the way from the US to bury you. But when you are in trouble, even the closest relatives will walk past you," he observed.

  • . . . .