Judy Nyawira, wife of renowned actor and comedian Abel Mutua, recently shared a deeply personal and emotional part of her family’s history in a candid interview with CTA (Cleaning The Airwaves).
For the first time, Judy revealed the details surrounding her father’s health struggles and the challenging circumstances her family faced following his passing.
In the heartfelt interview, Judy disclosed that her father, whose health had been deteriorating, had contracted HIV while working in Nairobi, a fact unknown to many.
“My dad suffered a stroke, and he had started going for physiotherapy. What I remember about our house in Nairobi was the smell of medication. While I was in class six, my dad was in and out of the hospital. We went to the hospital on a Saturday as my dad had requested my mum to take all of us. On Sunday, my dad passed away,” Judy recalled.
By the time of her father’s passing, her mother was left alone at 36 years old to take care of their four children.
Judy revealed that, not long after her father’s funeral, her paternal in-laws, led by her paternal grandmother and her eldest children, arrived at their doorstep. They were seeking her father’s property.
“They wanted his property. I loved my ‘cucu’ (grandmother) and loved doing sleepovers, and I couldn’t understand how she was the one throwing us out,” Judy expressed.
The situation took a dramatic turn when, years later, Judy met the doctor who had treated her father.
He revealed to her that her father had not only suffered a stroke but had also been living with HIV/AIDS. He advised her to discuss this with her mother when she was old enough.
The revelation about her father’s HIV status shed light on the reason her paternal in-laws had attacked her mother, accusing her of infecting her father with HIV.
“My relatives from my dad’s side accused my mum of infecting my dad with HIV. They alleged they had come to remove my mum, who they referred to as a ‘prostitute,’ from the home. They said my mum was sleeping around when my dad was working in Nairobi,” Judy explained.
However, the truth emerged in court.
Judy’s mother and her dad had a civil wedding, making her the rightful owner of her late husband’s property.
The court ruled in her favor, and they regained their property.
“My mum had to start from scratch, and the first job she got was sweeping the County Market. Before then, she was a housewife. She would get paid 200 per day,” Judy shared.
In the interview, Judy conveyed her desire to witness her mother relish the fruits of her labor, acknowledging the sacrifices her mother made to ensure their success in life.
