Churchill Show’s YY opens up about growing up in a violent home

Sue Watiri

January 25, 2019 5:07 PM

The popular comedian reveals unknown things about his past life.

YY Mceeing at an event (Baobab Photography)

Churchill show comedian Oliver Otieno aka YY recently disclosed that he lost his father while in standard three.

To honour him he picked his dad’s nickname YY as his stage name “My dad passed away when I was in standard 3 so I decided to let his legacy live.” His dad was named YY by his Kalenjin friends as he was outgoing and loved people.

YY (Instagram) Pulse Live Kenya

Despite his public persona, Oliver disclosed that his dad had a dark side as he grew up seeing his father (YY senior) beating his mum. A situation that had the young YY feel that he had to protect his mum and would do heavy chores like cooking and washing dishes as a way of supporting his mum though the abusive years.

“When I was growing up, my dad was kind of abusive. I was a kid in the middle of it. He would come home drunk and beat my mum. It created a strong bond between my mum and me because I felt that I needed to protect my mum…So I was like how can I help my mum? I used to wash the utensils even when I know I wouldn’t do it perfectly,” he revealed on Radio Jambo.

I was a kid in the middle of it - Oliver (Instagram) Pulse Live Kenya

During the interview, he urged men to set women free instead of subjecting them to domestic abuse.

“My mum went through a lot and I would want my mother to live a good life. And not just my mother but all women. I would urge all the men to respect women and if you feel that you can’t respect a woman, set her free. Don’t beat her. If you don’t want a woman don’t beat her,” he added.

Sue Watiri