Kenyan musician Sanaipei Tande has disclosed how she was able to rebuild her life after losing her job and moving back home with her parents.
In a recent interview with Bikozulu, Sanaipei said that being fired from Nation Media Group where she was a radio presenter changed her life drastically.
She recalled being dismissed on September morning in 2015 after her show on Easy FM which used to air from 10am to 2pm.
"So I get into the boardroom and you have the general manager there and you've got the chief accountant and you've got the HR manager...I think maybe for those people who are going to break down because I didn't and so I was given, here's your letter here's your cheque, don't come tomorrow... that's how the job ended," she said.
To pay the bills, Sanaipei turned to hosting karaoke at different clubs in Nairobi where she would receive between Sh10,000 to Sh12,000 per night.
The club life exposed her to the dangers of the city, from abusive revellers, unsafe streets and delayed payments.
"When you go ask for your money you're told oh the boss didn't leave any money or the boss left half the money or the boss said because the show was not good tonight we have to work over the weekend for you to get your money and that was a trying time," she continued.
The gigs were not sustainable and after sometime she couldn't afford the Sh50,000 rent that was due everymonth.
"In 2016 November I realized I had to move back home. This moment in in time when things had hit the fan and I needed support, I wasn't embarrassed about what had happened, even I caused it, which i didn't, but this was the situation...look you have no money to pay rent, what's your option? go home," the singer added.
She still had to find a place to stay in the city because she had to host karaoke and settled for a hotel called Kenya Continental Hotel, (now Deja Vu).
"That was a tough time, um I never imagined that I would be sleeping in a lodging and as you drive home, which was the lodging...you know...I used to park my car then I just break down because I used to ask myself how did I get here? how did I get to be sleeping in a lodging earning Sh10,000 shillings after insults and disrespect," Sanaipei recalled.
The saving grace came in the form of Aziza, a 2017 TV show created by Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla where she was casted.
“Getting the Aziza job was very random. Rashid Abdalla saw my song Ankula Huu. I have a skit at the beginning where I am plaiting someone’s hair and I’m talking about how my husband is a dead beatdad ni ni ni . They saw that and they liked it and they were like ‘this girl can act’ that’s it, that’s how I got Aziza,” explained Sana in a past interview.
She show was written around her life as a young girl from a humble background with a talent for music and even incorporated Sanaipei hosting karaoke in some of the episodes.
This put the musician in a good position financially and was able to rebuild her life with her newly discovered acting skills as well as focus on her music career.
"I was able to move back to the same apartment complex and continued building my house. I started building my house a long time ago but because of the karaoke hosting and you know, the nightlife, the money was just going to the wrong things. When I got serious in 2019, what I have done in my house between 2019 and now is more than I did in six years from when I started building it," she narrated.
Sanaipei was able to bounce back and took her music career to greater heights than ever before, earning her the second most viewed song on YouTube though, Chaguo La Moyo with Otile Brown.
Other shows Sanaipei did include Kina where she was the main actor and Auntie Boss where she did a cameo.