About ten years ago, Marya(born Mary Maina Wanjiru) was one of the top musicians in the country. She is especially revered for her chart-topping girl-empowerment anthem ‘Chokoza’ featuring Avril.
At the time, Marya was arguably a bigger sensation in the local music industry than Avril.
However, after her 5-year contract with Ogopa Deejays record label lapsed, Marya fell into oblivion musically.
Nonetheless, she still grabbed headlines every now and then over her relationships with rapper Mustafa, and later with her ex-husband and baby daddy Kelvin Mutisya.
Fast forward to now and Marya has resurfaced from her quiet life following an expose by blogger Edgar Obare that she works at a brothel.
Speaking to YouTuber Eve Mungai, Marya narrated how she ended up associating with “bad company” after trying to revive her music career.
Marya said she reached out to “friends” in the industry but nothing ever came out of it.
“You’re going to people in the industry who have connections…but it all went to deaf ears so nikajipata nimejiassociate na a bad group of women na ivo ndio jina ya Marya ilienda ivo,” she said.
“All I can say is everything I did, I did for the sake of my son. That’s all I can say. Maybe people will never understand it, some can understand, some can’t. But there’s a level you can get to and all you want is to see your child happy and that’s how I found myself associated with these women who later ruined my name.”
When asked if the claim about her working in a brothel was true, Marya said: “It was just associating myself with people, haikuwa working.”
Marya noted when Obare approached her for a comment, he never really wanted to hear her side of the story.
“I don’t have anything against him but I wish things would have played out differently,” said Marya.
The former singer, who currently runs an online clothing business, said she is now beginning to reclaim her life after struggling to make ends meet following her separation from Kelvin.
The breakup saw her return to Kenya from Dubai, where she worked at a call center.
“I wanted to commit suicide and kill my child. Where do I start from as a single mum?” she asked herself.
Marya decried the lack of guidance during her heydays saying she never invested her money
“I had a lot of money when I was young so wanted to live the fast life. At only 22, I would get Sh 100,000 or Sh 200, 000 but would not save any of it. We never had the guidance on how to manage the finances,” she said.
