Renowned Kikuyu gospel musician and songwriter Mary Wanjiru, popularly known as Shiru wa GP, has opened up about the heartbreaking final moments of her dear friend, Betty Bayo, describing her as a strong soldier who fought to the very end.
Shiru wa GP recalls the night it all began.
“Upstairs, I poured water for her in a cup, then went downstairs and woke up her maid who was asleep. I checked on the children; they were fine and sleeping soundly. I told the auntie not to sleep, stay here on the chair. When mum calls, give her water. I’ll come at six in the morning,” she narrated.
What followed was tragic. While Shiru slept, Betty began bleeding, internally, from her head. The bleeding was severe. Struggling to breathe, Betty got out of bed and made her way downstairs, still bleeding. In pain, she grabbed her car keys, intending to drive herself to the hospital, with her househelp following closely behind.
Too weak to drive, Betty sat in her car and began hooting continuously, waking her neighbours. One of them rushed out and helped her get to a hospital. But upon arrival, she couldn’t be admitted immediately, she didn’t have the money required.
“When her husband called me, I paid Ksh. 260,000 for her admission so she could receive immediate medical attention. We received a lot of support from friends, but Betty didn’t want her condition shared on social media, she was very private about it,” Shiru wa GP recalled.
As the hours passed, her situation worsened.
“She kept saying she needed A+ blood, and that’s when I realized she wasn’t okay,” Shiru wa GP said.
Around 10 a.m., Betty suffered a stroke caused by internal bleeding and a clot in her head. She was rushed to the ICU, where her friends waited outside anxiously until late that night, but they weren’t allowed in.
The next day, they returned only to find her still in critical condition.
“Betty had often complained of extreme fatigue. Eventually, she lost her speech and memory. Before transferring her to Kenyatta National Hospital, we called her children to see her. Upon seeing her children, she recognized them, and tears rolled down her face,” Shiru wa GP recalled.
Her firstborn daughter, Sky Victor, insisted on joining her mother in the ambulance. The young girl prayed and cried out to God, begging Him not to take her mother away. Sadly, the cancer had already spread too far. Betty stayed at Kenyatta for just two days before passing on.
“She died a strong lady. Let us stand together and support her children. Let them not feel a gap,” Shiru wa GP concluded.
