Comedian YY learnt how to cook at the age of seven because he was always around his mum.
"My mum was a businesswoman and most of the times I wanted to be around her because my dad was abusive," YY told Radio Jambo presenter Massawe Japanni last week.
Most of the times, he said, his dad came home drunk and would beat up his mother. So he always wanted to see her happy by helping her in household work.
"Sometimes, I would try to fight my dad to protect my mother. It really affected my childhood life," he said.
"After he died, I used to think that if my dad was there, life would be better, but I remembered the trouble he brought to my mum."
YY urged men to respect women and to avoid physically abusing them.
"I grew up knowing how to respect women and take care of them. It really helped me grow up so fast," he said.
"I'm dating and there are things I learnt from my abusive dad: to never disrespect any woman."
One interesting fact about YY is that despite the painful memories, his stage name is still inspired by his father.
"YY was my dad’s name. It is a nickname he was given by his Kalenjin friends. YY is someone who is outgoing, someone who doesn’t stay at one place," he said.
"He used to live here in Nairobi. My dad, however, passed away when I was in standard three, so I decided to let his legacy live. I still respected him as my dad."