‘I DIDN’T FEEL PHYSICALLY SAFE’ SHIKO NGURU ON BREAK UP WITH HER EX-BOYFRIEND

Youtuber Shiko Nguru has opened up about the challenges she faced in an unsafe relationship with her ex-boyfriend Rama Oluoch.

Speaking on her podcast, Nguru described a pivotal moment when she realised the urgency of leaving her unsafe environment. “I fought for it for a while, but the moment when I completely reeled back from the fighting and moved into another space of needing to leave, was a night where I didn’t feel physically safe. Calling my parents in the middle of the night and hearing the panic in their voices is what scared me,” said Nguru.

Her brother’s offer to fly out one of her friends and the intervention of household staff who noticed her deteriorating condition made her decide to leave the relationship. “We had a housekeeper and nanny who literally pulled me aside and said, ‘You are not okay, you are locking doors behind you, you have lost so much weight, this is not safe,’” Nguru recounted.

Returning to Nairobi, Nguru faced numerous challenges, “When we moved to Malindi, we sold a lot of our stuff because most of the houses there were furnished. We were living in a furnished house, and I had even sold my car. When the kids and I moved back to Nairobi, we didn’t have beds to sleep in. 

I had to beg a school to take them in because I didn’t have money for school fees. The shame was overwhelming—I felt like I had stepped back five years. My family supporting me financially was humbling. When women stay in bad relationships, I get it. 2022 was the hardest year of my life,” Nguru explained.