By Prudence Minayo
Bishop Naomi Nyongesa recently had an interview on Sauti TV expressing her pain over not seeing her son Xtian Dela, real name Arthur Mandela Nyongesa, for four years. Being a famous personality and an award winning content creator, it is no surprise that the video of his mum calling him home received massive views.
Here is the story of Xtian Dela’s mother as told by WoK.
Music, pastoral ministry and acting
Naomi Nyongesa is a pastor and singer. Having been a Christian for a long time, she brought up her children to know and love Christ. She would even sing with them as she has been an avid gospel musician.
During the era of the late retired president Daniel Moi, she was part of the prison’s choir. They traveled far and wide to perform various songs and at the time gained some notoriety.
She has sang various songs, most in her native Luhya language. They include:
- Esiri yange
- Rura munuteko
- Yesu Kandisiano
- Omubumbi wele
- Kalila Khamusalaba
- Bona soa silei
- Mwana wa Daudi
- Shikilia Yesu
Pastor
She went on to become a pastor and currently serves as the bishop at Mount Zion Church in Riverbank next to Baraka Estate.
The reverend has a youtube channel with over a thousand subscribers and more than two hundred thousand views. She has over twenty videos with a big chunk showcasing videos of her gospel songs.
As an artist, she appears on the comic show Hullaballo Estate on Maisha Magic East. The show features veteran actors, such as Ondiek Nyuka Kwota.
Family and estrangement from Xtian Dela
Naomi Nyongesa came out to share that she misses her son Xtian and wants him to go back home. She revealed that she has been estranged from the content creator since 2019.
She said that following her husband’s death, she raised Xtian and his siblings single handedly. Xtian attended Liki Hill Primary School before joining Moi High School, Kabarak. From Moi, he proceeded to the University of Nairobi for a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
The bishop was proud when her fourth born began to climb up the career ladder. However, she became shocked to see him spotting tattoos and dreadlocks yet they used to sing gospel songs together and he was brought up in a Christian family.
The mother revealed that she had tried to reach out to her son through various means without success. He neither reached out to her or his siblings. She went as far as reaching out to his girlfriend and content creator Fatma Banj, who promised to talk to him.
Later, she said she could not reach him and handed out his number. But when, his mother called, she could not get through. She lamented over the fact that she has never seen Xtian’s child and doesn’t even know the gender.
Mrs. Nyongesa said that everything was fine before he suddenly went silent on them. She said at the time he was dating a Kikuyu girlfriend who would often take gifts to her. The emotional mother narrated that her son even failed to attend his paternal grandmother’s burial which led to a lot of questions.
She urged him to go see her even despite the tattoos and dreadlocks as she will always love and forgive him. According to her, family will always be family and one can’t choose where to be born.
