This archive report was first published on 5 September 2019.
September 5, 2019, marked a significant day for many Kenyan students as they sat for their KCPE exams. However, for Mc Jessy, it was a day that would forever be etched in his memory as a reminder of his mother's untimely passing.
MC Jessy, the popular Churchill Show comedian, recently shared his heart-wrenching story of growing up as an orphan. In an interview on Talk Central, he revealed that he lost his mother just a day before his KCPE exams.
"My father passed on a long time ago, I never lived with my father for long. I saw him 3 times in my life. I grew up with my mum after my father passed on, I was in Embu County School. During the KCPE rehearsals my mother passed on, KCPE exams were on Tuesday my mum passed on that Monday. I sat for exams then that Friday I went to Meru and we buried her on Saturday. KCPE for me was a sad time," Mc Jessy narrated.
After his mother's passing, Mc Jessy was left to fend for himself. He revealed that he stayed in Meru and started living with his grandparents. Despite passing his exams, he stayed home for a year as he didn't have anyone to take him to school.
"I used to farm tomatoes, sukumawiki, we would get a little money. And then I used to dry tobacco that was taken to Marsabit for sale," Mc Jessy shared.
His aunt, who was his mother's sister, eventually took him to secondary school. After completing form four, Mc Jessy moved to Nairobi, where life became unbearable for him. He even slept in mitumba stalls for a month because he had nowhere to sleep.
However, Mc Jessy's determination and resilience eventually paid off. He started going to the Kenyan National Theatre daily for various auditions, hoping to secure a job. He even auditioned for Churchill Show's first edition but failed, only to meet the show's founder, Daniel Ndambuki, aka Churchill, in the washroom.
"I still love toilets, today," Mc Jessy joked.
