Kenyan actor and filmmaker Abel Mutua, known as Mkurugenzi, recently talked about his tough childhood that made him a present dad.
During an interview on his wife Judy Nyawira’s YouTube channel about fatherhood, Abel opened up about how his dad left them when he was only 8 years old. Despite being so young, he understood the issues and felt the impact of his father’s absence.
“When I was very young, I knew for a fact that when it came to that time, Mungu akinibariki na mtoto, I was not the one to bolt, and that was shaped by my experiences of growing up without a father.” Abel shared.
Abel remembered the tough times his mother went through, raising them on her own after their father left suddenly, and this made him wonder why his mother had to face so many difficulties alone.
“Nilikua na cheki, the struggles my mom is going through, rising as alone, najiambia, it shouldn’t be like these’men ‘…why is she struggling alone?”
Watching his mom struggle made him long for a father figure at home.
How Able’s dad left
During a tough time when the economy was bad and the company was reducing its workforce, Abel’s father decided to retire early. He received a payment from his job and used it to party.
After realizing the money was running out, Abel’s father then told them he had a farm business that could support them all.
“Alikacheza design ingine kali. He knew for a fact that amechoma existed,” Abel recounted. “Buda alipiga hesabu yake akaichukua. Akaingia dunda na hiyo pesa. Vile aligundua hiyo pesa inaisha akacome akaambia mathe niaje, niko na kafarm pale Molo, nataka niinge huko nataka niwatibu na macabbage… Akaingia Molo three months,” Abel explained.
After returning with a bag of cabbages and potatoes, his father left again, promising to come back with more. However, he never returned. As a result, Abel’s mother was left to fend for the family alone.
Abel Mutua thanks his second dad for being a great role model.
Despite his biological father abandoning him, Abel found a new father figure in his life when his mother remarried.
Abel explained how his stepfather, Paulo Musyoka, who came into their lives during his teenage years, played a crucial role in shaping his upbringing.
“Mamangu alionekaniwa na tukapata baba mwingine. Paulo alikam nikiturn is thirteen years old. Alikam akanifundisha knows how to live in town. I have learned a lot from him,” Abel shared.
Abel went on to share how Paulo taught him valuable life lessons, emphasizing the importance of taking risks and being responsible.
“He told me that I should never, for a minute, look at my sisters and think we are the same. He said he was not doing that because he hated me but because he had seen the results of men who had been babysat for way too long,” Abel shared.
Paulo had a big impact on Abel. Instead of using physical punishment, he taught Abel through life’s challenges, and this shaped Abel’s ideas about parenting.
“The fact that aliniraise hata kama sikuwa wake, alinipatia heart yake na akaniambia furaha yake ni kuona mimi nikiwa a respectable member of society,” Abel expressed.
