A Kisii lady has shocked fans and started intense online conversations by saying she is the biological mother of famous Kenyan artist Bahati. His narrative of going from the Mathare slums to wealth has inspired millions. The 52-year-old lady, who went under the name Mama Nyambeki on a famous TikTok live session, provided old pictures and stories from her youth that oddly fit what Bahati has said publicly about his early life.
” Mimi ni Mama yake muimbaji Bahati, sikukufa lakini walininyima mtoto wangu kwasababu nilikuwa maskini sana,” she said.
Bahati, whose real name is Kevin Mbuvi Kioko, has long spoken about his sad life as an orphan reared in the ABC Children’s Home in the rough Mathare slums of Nairobi. He frequently talks about how his mother died when he was seven, leaving him with a father who remarried and moved away, which caused the youngster years of misery and estrangement.
He went to the children’s home after being abandoned, where he found stability and eventually discovered his love of music. Largely raised by his elder brother, Bahati has even adopted his sibling’s name, Kioko, as a nod to their shared Ukambani roots, a detail he revealed in emotional interviews on shows like The Wicked Edition.
Mama Nyambeki’s emergence challenges that narrative. In her 20-minute broadcast from a modest Kisii village home, she alleged that she gave birth to Bahati in a rural clinic in 1993 but was forced to give him up due to extreme poverty and family pressures.
“I held him close for those first months, but life tore us apart. I searched for years, hearing rumours of a talented boy from Mathare who sings like angels. Now I know it’s my son,” she tearfully stated, holding up a faded birth certificate and a beaded necklace she claims was his baby gift.
Bahati’s team has yet to respond officially, but sources close to the singer say he is “deeply shaken” and consulting family elders. The artist, who is now 32 and has four children with his wife Diana Marua, has established a gospel empire with songs like “Mama” and “Akapandwa”.
He frequently says that his time in an orphanage made him strong. His Ukambani roots, which come from his late mother’s Kamba ancestry, have been a big part of who he is. This makes the Kisii claim so shocking since the Gusii and Kamba groups have historical links but different cultural markers.
Online reactions range from scepticism to sympathy. Gospel artist Size 8, a long-time friend, posted a prayer emoji on Instagram, urging caution amid “truth-seeking journeys”. Netizens dissected the photos, noting similarities in facial features and a distinctive scar on Bahati’s left hand that Nyambeki mentioned.
“This could heal old wounds or open new ones. Bahati deserves DNA peace,” wrote one fan. But critics smell opportunism and refer to similar fake charges against celebrities like Willy Paul.
DNA testing specialists in Nairobi believe it might take two weeks and cost less than KSh 50,000, but the emotional cost is greater. Bahati’s 2024 memoir, From Slums to Stages, talks about how he forgave his father for not being there before he died. This chapter may need to be rewritten if it is true.
The Kisii woman says that Bahati’s birth mother’s story has the whole country in its grip right now. It mixes celebrity gossip with deep human need. Fans are holding their breath as Bahati gets ready for his December performance tour, hoping for some clarification on what might change his origins forever.
