Former budding TV journalist Kimani Mbugua has shared a rather worrying update on his mental health journey.
Speaking out via social media on Wednesday, October 12, the former Citizen TV reporter said he is currently held up at the Mathari Mental Hospital against his wish.
In his tweet which has since gone viral, Kimani explains that he was admitted to the facility early last month after experiencing a "brief psychotic episode" for which he was later discharged. "My parents have left me here to punish me," he told his followers. To those who closely know him, Kimani's story is one of hope, good luck and resilience.
In the middle of his undergraduate studies at Moi University, Kimani Mbugua landed a gig at Nation FM.
This would then transform into an opportunity Entertainment Reporter and Producer at Nation Media Group in 2016.
As the entertainment reporter, Kimani would co-host the Trend Show alongside Larry Madowo before joining Royal Media services as a reporter on Citizen TV.
But two years ago, Kimani Mbugua's life took a turn after he started struggling with mental illness.
The media personality later publicly recounted how things took a wrong turn after a nasty breakup that led to him losing everything he had built.
He noted that the breakup was his fault, as after he started cheating on his girlfriend while trying to find different women to fill a void.
He tried moving on after the breakup when he met a new person and got engaged within months of their meeting.
This too did not work out as he was still dealing with many other issues.
This drew him to a serious smoking addiction, which became so severe that he developed other psychotic illnesses.
He was periodically admitted to Mathari Mental Hospital, twice in 2020.
In the same year, Kimani sparked controversy after branding the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church as a cult.
In a scathing Facebook video filmed in a car, he denounced the church that he claimed to have been a member of for over 20 years and rubbished one of its founders, Ellen White, as a “Philosophical Fraud”.
In the rant, Kimani reiterated his stance on why he had made the bold move, including his alleged ordination at the age of 16.
He later apologized for his remarks, following a major uproar from the SDA community.
After losing his job at Citizen TV, Kimani was later employed by a renowned blog, where he hosted a show on YouTube.
He later quit the job.