Kambua: My ups and downs in the joy of motherhood

Kambua

Gospel musician Kambua Mutsembi Mathu.

Photo credit: Pool

What you need to know:

  • In the early stages of Kambua’s marriage to Jackson Mathu eight years ago, she had fears about what was happening and how long or whether she would have children. 
  • . On social media, Kambua has started discussions around different topics regarding motherhood to form a support cell for others struggling too.

Tonight, Kambua Mutsembi Mathu, will be hosting a live performance on Studio Tisa, an online platform. Thus, she was a little anxious, but looked forward to the event as she spoke to Sunday Nation recently.

It has been many years since she last performed with the backing of a full live band and vocalists.

“In Kenya, most of the time you go with your CD and the deejay plays the track as you sing along.It’s different when you have to pour your heart out and leave yourself vulnerable to not having a take-two,” says Kambua.

She had done a lot of live performances as she pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Music at Ambrose University College in Calgary, Canada from 2005 to 2010. “It wasn’t only because live band performances was a course requirement, it was also the culture there,” she says.

“Umetenda Mema” and “Nishikilie” are songs fans demanded to be on the play list. She will also be releasing a new song for her fans.

In the early stages of Kambua’s marriage to Jackson Mathu eight years ago, she had fears about what was happening and how long or whether she would have children. 

“I totally rested in God to the point that it didn’t really matter what people were saying about me on public platforms,” says Kambua.

Faithfulness of God

Her son, Nathaniel, is a year and a month-old now. Every day, she’s reminded of the faithfulness of God when she looks at her son, and sees him clocking milestones. “Wow! We’ve kept someone alive for a year and something! He looks like his paternal grandfather, uncle and my husband. He has my personality though, and a hearty laughter like my father,” she says.

“It’s a really beautiful journey. To have a little human that’s yours is very fulfilling but motherhood is also a lot tougher than most mothers would like to admit. There’s pressure to look like we have it all figured out,” says Kambua.

She leans on other mothers around her and ask for help when she gets overwhelmed. On social media, Kambua has started discussions around different topics regarding motherhood to form a support cell for others struggling too.

“I’ve never breastfed before and I was struggling. Yet I was getting all this pressure to feed my son exclusively on breast milk, even from other mums. I had so many questions I wanted to ask. Even though we want healthy babies, we also need healthy mothers,” she says, adding mental health is essential for being a good mother.

Cyber-bullying

Kambua has been a victim of vicious cyber-bullying for a long time. She terms it the lowest forms of humanity. “It’s a lot of angry, unsatisfied people projecting that on the victim. It has nothing to do with the victim. I’m grateful for my support group that fights for me,” says Kambua.

Welcoming the new chapter of her life, she has also decided to unbox herself as an artiste by expressing herself in so many other ways. Her songs are now happier and she has worked with the newer generation of gospel acts including Mr Seed and Ben Cyco.

Nathaniel likes music. Kambua and Jackson bond with him by introducing him to their different tastes of music; her love for southern gospel music and his love for more Afro gospel music. The spouses also have learnt to not put too much pressure on themselves as far as “couple goals” go.

“There is no set formula, just do life. Just try something and if that isn’t working try something else. Marriage is being open to learning and adjusting your expectations,” she says about what has been working for them.