Gospel singer Daddy Owen has said the squint in one of his eyes was caused by a violent beating after a failed attempt to rob passengers in a matatu.
In an interview with Radio Jambo on Tuesday, he said the incident happened shortly after he left high school, when he was living with his family in Umoja estate, Nairobi.
He said he had joined a gang he described as “Mbogi” after moving to Nairobi from shags and trying to fit in with other young people. According to him, the group spent about two to three years robbing people.
“My friends and I had planned to steal in a matatu, but things did not turn out well as the people in that matatu beat me up,” Daddy Owen said.
He said the plan collapsed when his accomplices left without telling him there were askaris in the vehicle. As he tried to steal from passengers at the back, he was caught and assaulted by a crowd.
“There were no phones and so my friends realised that there were askaris in that car and left without my knowledge. Like we had planned, I started the mission of stealing from the back seats but I was caught and badly beaten. That is when my eye was pierced,” he said.
Daddy Owen said he was rushed to hospital and survived, but the attack forced him to rethink his life. He added that none of the gang members visited him while he was admitted.
“I realised I needed to change my life as well as behaviour. I had fought so hard to fit in the gang, but all of them did not come to visit me in hospital,” he said.
He credited his brother Rufftone with supporting him through the period, saying his father was away working to provide for the family. Daddy Owen said he later got saved after leaving hospital and went on to build a music career.
He is married and has a child they welcomed in July. His songs include Wewe Ni Mungu, Kazi ya Msalaba, Mbona and System ya Kapungala.
