Gospel musician Justina Syokau, who is famed for her breakout hit song ‘Twendi Twendi’, has fallen out of work and money.
Barely a year after she burst into the limelight, Syokau says things took a turn for the worst in January of this year. She developed rashes which she initially thought were an allergic reaction.
“After a week, the rashes had spread all over my body, and they were itchy. I stopped taking meat, eggs and started detoxing. In the second week, the rashes started forming black spots, and I went to the hospital where I was diagnosed with dermatophytes,” she recounted during a YouTube interview with Hiram Maina.
Syokua said the prescribed drugs did not work forcing her to seek a second opinion from another doctor.
“I want to another hospital, I was told I have Eczema. We treated it but still, it was not working. I was using a body cream of 1,000 ksh per day. We had no events and I had no income. Things got thick. I could no longer afford medicine. I took aloe Vera, garlic, and turmeric to apply on the body but it was still not working,” Justina narrated.
“People started saying that I had been bewitched and advised me to apply the pig fat. Being a Christian, I did not take that route and instead went to the third hospital and was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis,” she continued.
Justina said all the medication from the two misdiagnoses damaged her liver. “I was admitted to hospital for two weeks, spent all my savings and got to a point of selling my clothes and shoes.”
The single mother of one said all the money she earned from the ‘Twendi twendi’ hit song was exhausted in clearing the hospital bills.
“I had sung about restoration but I am currently very broke. Restoration did not happen to me,” she said.
“You can never plan for your tomorrow. Even when I called my friends to help me while in the hospital, no one believed I was broke because my songs were everywhere.
“People have mocked me because of the autoimmune disease. Friends started shunning me, and the only company I had was my househelp and child. I thank God for my house girl, she stuck with me, yet I have not been paying her,” the singer said.
Justina added that she can barely afford food yet before the sickness, she was the one donating food to people through her foundation Justina Hope Initiative.
“I had started a community-based organisation, but I currently cannot manage it due to lack of funds. People would come to my gate, and I would give them foodstuff, but I cannot even afford food right now. I used up all my money for treatment. I also have pending hospital bills. I pray God uses Kenyans to help me,” she said.
Justina can also be reached via 0729524996.
