Betty Bayo's Biography: Music, marriages, controversy, illness and death

Betty Bayo, born Beatrice Mbugua, was a Kenyan gospel singer whose life has played out at the intersection of talent, faith, scandal, and second chances. 

Singing mainly in Agikuyu and Swahili, she built a loyal audience with emotionally honest worship songs and an unusually open public persona that kept her in the headlines for more than a decade.

Early life and background

Public profiles and interviews describe Bayo as the last-born in a family of eight from Banana, Kiambu County. 

She spent part of her childhood in Ol Kalou (Nyandarua) before the family moved back towards Kiambu. 

Raised in a modest home, she has spoken about dropping out of school in Form Two because of financial challenges, working as a househelp for about two years, then returning to school when her family could raise some money.

Those early struggles, service jobs, hustling, and church later became a core part of her testimony and her appeal to working-class and single-mum audiences.

Rise in gospel music

Bayo emerged in the 2010s as part of the vibrant Kikuyu gospel wave. She is best known for songs such as: “11th Hour”, “Gatho”, “Jemedari”, “Thiiri”, “Udahi”, “Ndîkerîria”, “Maneno”, “Agocwo”, among others.

Her music blends worship themes with everyday struggles, financial pressure, heartbreak, parenting, and spiritual doubt, delivered in a conversational, story-led style that helped her cut through beyond strictly church audiences. 

Public scrutiny, Pastor Kanyari and reinvention

Bayo’s private life became a national conversation through her relationship with controversial televangelist Pastor Victor Kanyari.

For years, Kenyan media and the public widely referred to Kanyari as her husband; they had children together and appeared as a couple in ministry.

In 2014, an investigative exposé linked Kanyari to fake miracles and the infamous “Sh310 seed” scam, triggering one of Kenya’s biggest church scandals. 

Bayo was pulled into the storm by association but repeatedly denied involvement in any wrongdoing and framed herself as collateral damage to her partner’s actions.

The two later separated (widely reported around 2015). For several years, she publicly carried the “divorcee” label.

From 2023 onwards, Bayo became more explicit about her own narrative. In interviews and the gospel reality show Oh Sister, she stated that she does not consider herself a “divorcee” because, in her account, her relationship with Kanyari did not go through a formal church wedding in the way people assumed, even though they had children together.

Her clarification came alongside increasingly bold messages to women about walking away from unhealthy relationships, insisting that “God hates divorce, not divorcees” and urging people not to stay in abusive or toxic unions simply to protect public image

Love, family and remarriage

After years of public speculation about her love life, Bayo introduced businessman Hiram “Tash” Gitau as her partner and, on December 17, 2021, the two held a Kikuyu traditional wedding (ruracio), shared widely on Kenyan media platforms. 

Reports indicate they had dated for about two years before the ceremony, with Bayo praising his character, his relationship with her children, and framing the union as an answered prayer and a “second chance” story. 

She has children from her earlier relationship with Kanyari; in 2024, Tuko reported that her daughter Sky relocated to Texas for school, with Bayo publicly celebrating the opportunity,  a detail that underscores how long she’s been in the public eye as both artist and mother. 

Her remarriage and blended-family life have become part of her ministry message: that women, especially single mothers and those emerging from scandal, can rebuild, love again, and still be embraced by faith communities.

 Illness and death

Bayo's battle with cancer, first disclosed publicly in recent months, was marked by quiet determination and unwavering faith.

She continued to share messages of encouragement with her followers even as her health declined, often crediting her strength to God's grace.

Reverend Muthee Kiengei, a prominent gospel minister and friend, was among the first to confirm the news, posting on social media:

She leaves behind a legacy of a great contribution in the growth of the Gospel Music industry, friendship and a soul that maximised its full potential. She has rested after serving...... My condolences to your Mum, Husband, Siblings, Friends, the Music industry and to your beautiful children..

Fans and peers flooded platforms like Facebook and X with memories, photos from past performances, and clips of her electrifying stage presence.