Concerns have been raised about Ian Nene’s sanity after he was seen sitting in a street in the UK as he sang just like how beggars in the streets of Nairobi do.
The former Machachari actor sang in the Hindu language using musical instruments. He was in the streets with other members who practice Hinduism.
@jentrixadema3 #foryou #kenyan #jentrixadema #kenyantiktok ♬ original sound – Adema ❤💛💚🖤
Section of netizens who commented on the viral video questioned whether Ian Nene was mentally sane judging from how he was behaving.
The former Machachari actor converted to Hinduism shortly after his mother was diagnosed with cancer. He opened up about his conversion and more in YouTube interview in July 2022.
Nene revealed that he converted to Hinduism while he was in the UK where he is currently studying. He didn’t change religion immediately but his conversion was accelerated by his mother’s sickness.
“When I got to the university, I was wild and partying but still connecting a little bit with a weed dealer friend and I was always smoking weed and having some deep conversation and stuff,” he shared.
The popular actor further disclosed that he met a monk who initiated his conversion to Hinduism.
“Randomly, he brings me a book while we are just chilling and getting high. He told me he was a monk but I didn’t understand, he told me if I read the book, I will get some realizations. He gave me the book and a bag of a guitar and I looked at the back of the bag of the guitar and I saw a picture of one of our founders, I didn’t understand it then.”
Nene nearly slipped into depression when he returned to Kenya during holiday and discovered that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer.
“My mum told me that the doctors said she had stage four breast cancer. I am a mama’s boy. My mum raised me single-handedly, my dad was never around my life.”
He started smoking marijuana to ward off stress as he thought his mom would die.
“I started getting higher even more, I asked God why He had allowed my mum to suffer, ‘If you truly exist, why do you allow bad things to happen to good people. My mum here serves everyone and even people outside the community she helps so many people yet she is the one getting cancer’. I could not understand.”
The ultimate pull factor that saw Nene convert to Hinduism came when he saw a photo of a Hindu woman who had some marks on her face.
“I was scrolling on Facebook and I saw a picture of a lady who had some marks on her face and she looked peaceful and her picture was posted by one of my old friends.”
After seeing the photo, Nene went to a temple in Nairobi where his deep questions about the universe were answered.
“I was invited to a temple and I started learning and they were answering all my questions deeply and scientifically and how God is maneuvering this world and a lot of technical questions.”
The former Machachari star fully embraced Hinduism and started visiting the temple regularly when he returned to the UK.
“I became a vegetarian immediately and when I went back to the UK, I met monks and they took me to a temple, where I spent most of the times, especially during holidays, and dedicated even more cohesive time to it after am done with school.”
