Esther Wahome is a renowned gospel artiste who was not afraid to step out of the norm and create gospel music that can be played anywhere. Ranked by the Music Copyright Society of Kenya as one of Kenya’s top earners in the Performances in Public Places category, she has flown the national flag high through her music and participation in the Mrs Universe franchise. An advocate for positive marriage and family values, the musician was the first East African to take part in the Mrs Universe Pageant, and the first African to be crowned runner-up in the competition.
Esther Wahome is a popular face with an even more recognisable voice that has traversed continents, spreading good cheer.
With 10 albums to her credit and international hits to boot, she is best known for her Kuna Dawa hit.
Wahome was also the first Kenyan artiste to be featured in an international CD compilation of Africa’s greatest hits, with her song Furahia in 2000. Released by Sony, her song in the CD compilation introduced Wahome to millions of music lovers, giving her the big international break she craved.
She won the 2012 Mrs Kenya title and proceeded to be crowned runner-up in the Mrs Universe pageant, becoming the first black woman from Africa to win the coveted title. She is currently the franchise holder for the Mrs Kenya pageant.
In 2009, President Mwai Kibaki bestowed on her the Head of State Commendation. She was also a brand ambassador for the popular Malta Guinness beverage, an opportunity that introduced her to the rest of the continent through performing for international audiences. Some of her songs have been published in Burundi hymn books. She has been to Greece and Russia where black faces are rare, and even to Asia, where Kenyan audiences chant along to her Kiswahili lyrics. That, she says, is humbling.
“I get a lot of support from the Kenyan embassies in foreign countries I visit, and for that I am really appreciative.”
My songs come from an inner place, an experience or something I am going through. I would hate to just go to the studio to record songs just because I have the money and the time. I want to inspire
Wahome has accomplished much more than most musicians in Kenya and is arguably among the Kenyan gospel artistes with the highest-selling songs. Her rise from humble beginnings is impressive. Born and bred in Tetu Town, Nyeri, the young artiste had a spiritually focused upbringing. Her father was a preacher and the family had all the musical instruments in the house that a budding musician would want. That is how her passion for music was born.
Every evening, the family would sit together and play praise and worship music. Her father had always harboured a secret desire to be a musician, but it was difficult to realise his dream during the colonial times.
“He says that he is living vicariously through me. My mum, on the other hand, had no interest in music. She is the reserved kind,” Wahome shares.
Of her seven siblings, she is the only one who pursued music as a career, although they all can play at least one instrument.
The songstress considers herself a ‘daddy’s girl’, and it is for this reason that she didn’t drop her father’s name when she got married. She just added her husband’s name. “He is proud of me,” she says. “Whenever he introduces himself to an audience, he says ‘I am Mr Wahome, Esther Wahome’s dad’. He will talk about me even when his audience is really not interested in hearing about me,” she quips.
At Pangani Girls’, Nairobi, where she attended high school, she joined the choir and further honed her skills. This, she says, is where she perfected her diction, and flourished.
Joining a city school right from the village was a challenge for her as she couldn’t talk proper English. But she adjusted quickly and learned to enunciate words properly. She always harboured the dream of being a runway model or an inflight cabin attendant, because she had heard that girls who were tall and slim, like she was, always ended up there. While in Pangani, she excelled at athletics and even represented Nairobi in countrywide track events.
But the music bug bit her, and she abandoned her earlier ambitions. After completing her ‘O’ Level education, she performed here and there, and one day while performing in a hall in Nyeri Town, a passing Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) producer was mesmerized by her voice and confidence, awe-struck that such a small girl could project such a powerful voice. He asked her if she would like to perform on TV.
“I remember telling him that I would love to, but I didn’t know anyone who would help me get there.” He said that he could make it happen and the rest, as they say, is history.
Words of Wisdom
- “Grab opportunities as soon as they come. Don’t leave room for self-doubt. Just do it and you will succeed. Drive and determination will take you very far.”
- “If you want to succeed, you should have positive values. Having all the talent in the world but no values won’t lead you to succeed. If you are a musician and all you have is your voice and no principles, you will fail. Good character is integral. I am very careful of the way I live my life.”
- “Resilience, patience and reliance on God are what everyone needs in order to achieve their goals.”
- “Work hard regardless of your circumstances. “I didn’t have the best in life or the highest level of education, but I made it. And when I die, I want my life to be a beacon of hope, that you can make something of your life no matter what your circumstances.”
The following Monday, she made her way to the KBC offices in Nairobi, where she did a live performance with a band. The performance was recorded and aired on the Rise and Shine gospel music show.
She borrowed instruments from the church, and together with her band, she travelled to Nairobi by bus and took a mkokoteni (hand cart) to the TV station. At the time, KBC was the only TV broadcast station in the country and it was great exposure for an unknown artiste.
After the recording was televised, the response was overwhelming with people calling in for music requests.
Her music was like a breath of fresh air to Kenyans. She was young, possibly the youngest on the music scene at the time, wore make-up, permed her hair and wore trousers – something Kenyans were not used to. They had become accustomed to gospel artistes looking and acting very conservative.
She became an instant sensation and her song received lots of airplay with many requests. Unfortunately she wasn’t able to watch a recording of her performance, as they didn’t own a TV set.
She went on to record her first Gikuyu album with the help of the Kassangas, a renowned gospel artiste couple. The album was an instant hit, and a Kiswahili one followed. “That was over 20 years ago,” Wahome says. So far, she has produced 10 albums in all.
Her music career has had its fair share of challenges. Firstly, being a pioneer on many fronts was not an easy thing for her. She wanted to make gospel music cool, a genre that could be played anywhere. It had to be a more contemporary type that would get her message delivered. Kuna Dawa achieved that. It was a hit everywhere, even in nightclubs.
She received lots of criticism for having her song played in ‘inappropriate’ places, but her response was that it wasn’t any different from going to Uhuru Park to preach. The message was getting spread, and wasn’t that the ultimate goal, she asked her critics.
It was difficult having no start-up capital to do her own productions, and were it not for her passion for music, she would have given up. Her financial breakthrough came in 2000, after many years in the industry.
This tenacity and focus on her goals kept her hanging in there when critics landed on her for being a brand ambassador for Malta Guinness. Her image was on billboards everywhere. Being a non-alcoholic drink, Malta Guinness was a good fit for her, but not everyone thought so, focusing instead on the Guinness brand the drink is associated with.
She opted to focus on the positive and went on with it. The campaign gave her some headway into the rest of the continent, especially the Nigerian market where the billboards were also on display.
It is not all work for the popular singer. She takes a break from music when she needs to. This, she says, helps her rebrand and take the time out to do international performances. She takes two-to-three-year breaks every five years. She reckons that it is not smart to always be in the limelight because the mojo will run out fast.
“Fans ask why I stopped singing. That is how I know that I have been away for a long time. The breaks rejuvenate me; they give me time to reflect, listen to what is in the market and come up with new sounds.” She explains that it is part of her learning curve. “I do not want to stretch myself too thin and burn out, and then churn out crappy music.” “My songs come from an inner place, an experience or something I am going through. I would hate to just go to the studio to record songs just because I have the money and the time. I want to inspire.”
Despite her busy career, she has found her own simple ways of giving back to the society.
She mentored Jimmy Gait and Emmy Kosgei when they were starting out. She is also Kenya’s blood donation ambassador with Hope World Wide.
Two years ago, she did the Lifebuoy hand-washing campaign. In 2013, she was the face of the Mudavadi Foundation which focuses on breast cancer. She is also a friend of the Kenyatta National Hospital Cancer Ward for children. Any time they have an event, they call her to talk to the parents and sing to the children.
As a mother of an autistic child, Wahome clearly understands the challenges of bringing up a child with special needs, and therefore gives talks on TV and other forums for families going through the same.
Apart from her autistic son, Wahome is a wife and mother of two other children: a daughter and a son. She describes her children as her greatest source of joy.
Lately, marriage has been receiving a bad rap from all corners. I want people to know that that isn’t the case at all; it can be a great institution
The musician got married to Godfrey Mureithi at age 20, and gave birth to her daughter soon thereafter. She had to put her studies on hold to care for her little girl. She went back to pursue studies in Beauty and Human Resources when her daughter was older. Being a mother and wife, she states, is her greatest source of fulfilment.
She believes in the sanctity of marriage and family and that is why she took up the Mrs Kenya franchise. This was after being crowned Mrs Universe Kenya in 2012, representing Kenya in the pageant held in Russia that year.
The pageant, she explains, is not just about physical beauty, but teaches women and young people that marriage is a beautiful thing. “Lately, marriage has been receiving a bad rap from all corners. I want people to know that that isn’t the case at all; it can be a great institution. I have been married for 18 years now and I know what I am talking about.”
In May 2016, Wahome launched the New Horizon International Foundation as its Chairperson. Together with Susan Naipoi Letuya (founder and Programme Coordinator) and Ann Gathoni Kung’u (Programme Manager) they seek to raise awareness on autism.
She considers Rebecca Malope, the South African musician, her inspiration. She also loves award-winning American gospel artiste Nicole C. Mullen’s deep lyrics and rich music, pointing out that she respects an artiste who can change lives through their music. That is what she also continually strives to achieve.