Two months after her three-year-old son’s funeral, Kenyan musician Nazizi Hirji was asked to feature his death in a Valentine’s Day advertising campaign, a proposal she says she rejected immediately.
Jazeel Adam, aged three, died on Christmas Day 2023 in an accident at a hotel in Tanzania, where the family had travelled for the holiday.
In a joint statement, the family said the loss was immeasurable and the pain unbearable.
Nazizi has now spoken publicly about an encounter that, she says, showed how little regard some people had for her grief.
“My grief is not a marketing strategy.”
In February 2024, a company approached Nazizi’s team with a Valentine’s Day campaign promoting balcony safety nets.
She said the concept required her to speak directly to camera, addressing her late son. It implied the product could have prevented his death.
She rejected it immediately.
“I couldn’t believe it. I told my team, absolutely not,” she said. “I refuse to use my son’s death, my deepest trauma, to sell products or make money.”
She was also critical of those behind the proposal.
“It showed me how people can completely lose their humanity and empathy when money is involved,” she said. “My grief is not a marketing strategy.”
Nazizi has also spoken about the isolation she experienced after Jazeel’s death. She said she barely left her home for almost a year and turned away visitors, as she needed space to process what had happened.
A tribute to Jazeel
Prayer, meditation and the steady presence of close family eventually helped Nazizi find her footing again.
In February 2024, she wrote on social media that she felt broken and could not picture life without her son.
A month later, she described the routines she missed most: evenings watching Paw Patrol together, the laughter and the cuddles. The house felt hollow without him, and the sight of his toys, untouched, was painful.
In October 2026, she posted a further tribute to Jazeel.
“I miss you so much, @jazeeladam, especially the kisses and your little laugh and your expressions and how you didn’t need words to express yourself, my mini me. I can’t wait to kiss you again.”
