Although you see them shining today, some celebrities have had a dark past in their lives. They were either living in the streets, abusing drugs or involved in crime before reforming.
Bahati
Bahati grew up in the ABC Orphanage in Mathare slum after his mother died. He lived there for a long time, until he realised his father died when he was in class eight.
His stepbrother later took him and after a hectic search for family members, he met his grandfather. He was inspired to work hard, and that’s when he started singing.
The father of two is now one of the leading gospel artistes in Kenya.
Papa Dennis
The singer tasted the rough life of the streets after his mother died and left him behind with his siblings.
In a recent interview, Papa Dennis said he was the breadwinner of his family but all his hustle was lost during the 2007 post-election violence in Kisumu, where he was living.
"I became homeless and lost everything there. I came back home and became homeless again,” he said.
With no one to support or care for the family, Denno had to turn to the streets to fend for himself and his siblings.
Guardian Angel
When former President Daniel Moi approved a rehabilitation plan for all the streets families in Kenya’s major towns, including Nairobi, one of the young, homeless children caught in the swoop was Guardian Angel.
The former street urchin is now one of the most promising singers in the gospel industry. Having been brought up by a single mother, life was not easy.
Guardian was later jailed in the Central police station, where he chose to seek God. He was taken to Ahadi Children's Home, where he stayed for five years. He then discovered he had a talent in music, and the rest is history.
He nearly lost his life after he was poisoned by a woman who had given his mother and him shelter in her house but was tired of hosting them.
Ringtone
The controversial gospel singer spent most of his time in the streets. And just like street urchins, he ate from the bins.
In several interviews, Ringtone has narrated how his mother dumped him at the doorstep of a bar in Nairobi’s Tom Mboya Street and left him at the mercy of the streets of Nairobi.
His uncle later found him and sent him to the village to stay with his grandmother, who later passed away, leaving him once again at the mercy of the world.
He was forced to flee to the streets, where he did everything urchins do because his family had allegedly rejected him until he was rescued by a Good Samaritan.
MCA Tricky
A comedian and self-proclaimed Member of Chokora Assembly, Tricky joined the streets at the tender age of 12, after his peers convinced him to accompany them to Nairobi in search of greener pastures without the knowledge of his parents.
“For three years, I experienced the vagaries of street life in Nairobi’s Saika estate, during which I worked as a vegetable errand boy to and from Gikomba market to survive,” he said in a past interview.
Annitah Raey
The former Radio Jambo presenter had it rough in the streets, even being sexually assaulted at some point.
“I was so rebellious because I was raised by a very harsh mother. I started running away from home at a very tender age of 13 years and started living in the streets,” she told Sasa.
“I lived in the streets of Nairobi with the worst people in society. Those were my friends. They used to treat me like I am the baby in their crew. You are the one who carried the drugs for them.”
Bonoko
The Ghetto Radio presenter, real name James Kimani, went to live in the streets after his parents had frequent quarrels. He gained instant fame after witnessing an extrajudicial murder. His prowess in speaking sheng is widely known due to living for years as a street urchin.
The video of him giving his account of what happened at the scene went viral and ended up been used by DJs and artistes in their contents.
His popularity grew massively, and he ended up getting a job as a radio presenter at Ghetto Radio, and from then on his life changed.
All in all, the above celebrities have clearly shown that living in the streets is not the determining factor of what your future will look like. One can still succeed in life.