Awinja: My Dad Worked As A Cobbler, In Mjengo Sites Due To Late Salary Payments

Jacky Vike, otherwise known as Awinja Nyamwalo is among local celebrities who celebrated their dad’s on Father’s Day.

On Sunday, June 18, she took to her Instagram and penned a heartwarming message to remember her late dad.

Having passed away years ago, Jacky, in her message, wished that her dad could be around to witness her success.

In her message, the mother of one recalled how much her late father was dedicated to provide for their family.

Jacky noted that although her father had a full time job, he would engage in side hustles to provide for their family due to delayed payments.

“He worked as a County Askari and they would go months without pay but he would do side hustles such as working as a cobbler and working in constructions sites,” she wrote.

The actress also spoke on her dad’s love for traditional brews, especially after a long day at work.

“…he would later go to construction sites or alcohol dens in Shauri Moyo for a tin of traditional brew. Wish he was here now so that I could but him a nice crate of Tusker. He would have been happy

“I will never forget when one of those alcohol trucks crashed near Kije and we went to pick up bottles of alcohol. We later started flaunting them to neighborhood kids “My dad has picked up more bottles than yours!” said Awinja.

Rise to fame

Over the years, Jacky has rose to become one of the most sought after content creators in Kenya, with giant brands scrambling to have her advertise for them.

For instance in 2022, she worked with among other multimillion companies East Africa Breweries, Exe Unga, Naivas Supermarket among others.

She was among the celebrities who were sponsored by Odibets for the Qatar FIFA World Cup.

Dressed in her signature pink dress and with a kamisi overlapping beyond the hem of the dress, she could be seen on the stands shooting comic videos.

Jacky came into the limelight when she bagged a role in the Papa Shirandula television series.

The late Charles Bukeko, Papa Shirandula, awarded her with the opportunity after she impressed in auditions. This is what turned out to be her breakthrough in the competitive entertainment sector.

After the end of Papa Shirandula show, the actress began recording her skits and posting them online just for self satisfaction.

For the better part of 2022, she teamed up with fellow comedian, Mammito, to produce rib cracking skits which they shared on their respective social media pages.

Awinja and Mammito started  working together in March, their first character was two ladies from the village, popularly known by the moniker, vienyeji.

The two wore yellow sheer matching dresses, artificial braided wigs and some heels which is popular with women from upcountry.

The two content creators also spoke with deep Luhya accents to give a perfect depiction of a woman from the village.

With this character, they produced numerous skits which were shared on both their social media platforms.

A few months after introducing their first character, the two later introduced a new character which now depicted ‘buddies’ from the ghetto.

This character had the duo rock a tomboyish look which included a hat with reggae colours, a football jersey or an oversized t-shirt, a pair of skin tights and boots.

The duo also produced songs which were inspired by current happenings in the country.

For instance, months after the Nairobi Express Way was officially opened to the public, flowers which were planted on its pillars along Mombasa Road dried up.

This sparked mixed reactions from Kenyans across social media who hit out at the government over failure to maintain the flowers.

The duo took advantage of the same and teamed up with content creator Terence Creative to produce a song dubbed, Maua ya Expressway.