Musician and businesswoman Esther Akoth popularly known as Akothee has said her mother is the main reason she decided to go back to university and pursue her degree.
Speaking on Monday in an interview with TV47, Akothee said however much she earned in life her mother never let her rest.
“I recently finalized my longest education ever from Mount Kenya University and at the moment I am holding a degree. My mother is a disciplinarian and every time I told her about my achievements; the mansions I am building, the cheques I bank she kept on asking me about my degree,” she said.
The musician said she has been to the university for the past 14 years and the push came from her mother.
“I think I was born an automatically intelligent girl and I believe I don’t need to read books to write anything on any paper. I however felt like my mum was always on my neck and it was better to get the degree so that I could rest,” Akothee said.
She added that her ex-husband, the father to her first-born was at Moi University, and the English she spoke then was not polished making her lack confidence.
Akothee said whenever she could visit him the girls she schooled with could speak good English and it thwarted her self-esteem.
“I looked at them and said if they can speak that good then I can and instead of hiding I needed to go back to school. This was after I dropped out of school in Form Two and got married but lived with my ex-husband’s family where I served more as a house girl,” the musician said.
She said it had been her mum’s wish for her to be educated, she had to.
Akothee said her mother rented a house for her where she could leave her children and go to school.
“It was a mabati house and when my ex-husband now came to visit from Eldoret he got me pregnant again so I was forced to drop out of school,” she said.
“I was now forced to run away from my mum because I could not explain to her why I was pregnant again and gave birth to my daughter Prudence.”
The mother of five said despite getting pregnant again her mother never gave up on her and took her back to school once more.
She decided to get more serious and the mother even made sure she was taken for family planning.
“I managed to finally clear my form four with a grade of C plus. After that my marriage now broke and I resorted to becoming a taxi driver. I decided to go and register at the university but could not afford to pay my school fees,” Akothee said.
She said she could not balance work and children then.
The university also called her saying they could not take her since she was inconsistent.
“Later on I learnt about Mount Kenya University through my uncle and they were ready to accommodate me as a distant student. By this time I was financially independent and afforded to pay for my university,” she said.
