Kelvin Kioko, known by his stage name Bahati, has revealed that he struggled with depression after losing the 2022 general election.
The former gospel singer, who contested for the Mathare MP seat on a Jubilee ticket, finished third behind winner Anthony Oluoch of ODM and Billian Ojiwa of UDA.
Speaking at the launch of his reality show ‘The Bahati’s Empire’, Bahati admitted he vanished from the public eye for two months following the unexpected election outcome.
“I don’t want to lie. I lost two months because of depression,” he said.
Bahati shared his feelings of disappointment, highlighting his unfamiliarity with failure.
“You know I was not used to falling. I’m used to winning Groove Awards and winning people over. The campaign came, and I was running against people I’m not used to competing with,” he explained.
The singer disclosed this during his address to Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who attended the launch event held at the Westwood Hotel in Nairobi on Thursday night as the guest of honor.
Bahati expressed gratitude to Gachagua for embracing him despite his initial political affiliation with the Jubilee party.
“I want to thank you for hugging me even though I was on the other side,” Bahati said.
In the 2022 Mathare parliamentary election, Anthony Oluoch of the ODM party retained the seat with 28,098 votes, while Billian Ojiwa of the UDA secured second place with 16,912 votes. Bahati garnered 8,166 votes on the Jubilee ticket.
Related: Bahati officially joins politics as he vies for Mathare Member of Parliament
