Gospel singer Daddy Owen says a failed robbery attempt in a Nairobi matatu left him with an eye injury after passengers turned on him and beat him.
In an interview with Radio Jambo on Tuesday, Owen said the incident happened after he moved to Umoja estate in Eastlands shortly after finishing high school. He said he had come to Nairobi from the village and wanted to fit in with a group of young men.
Owen said he joined a gang he referred to as “Mbogi” and spent about two to three years robbing people in the area. He added that some of the people he moved with were later killed, while others were burned, but he continued with the robberies.
He said the matatu robbery went wrong when his accomplices noticed askaris in the vehicle and left without him. Owen said he was caught while trying to steal from the back seats and was badly beaten by passengers.
“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,” he said.
Owen said the attack pierced his eye and forced him to go to hospital. He said the experience made him rethink his life, especially because 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. Owen said that after he was discharged from hospital, he got saved.
“The most supportive person was my brother Rufftone, who completely stood by me because my dad was away, working to keep the family going. He was the big brother and he really helped me. He mentored me and my music journey was inspired by him. Immediately after I was discharged from hospital, I got saved,” Owen said.
Owen said he did not like revisiting the story, but wanted to share it as a warning and encouragement to others.
