Kenyan gospel singer Kambua Manundu has spoken plainly about a painful season in her life.
At Rhema Fest in Uhuru Park, she shared how she was labelled barren for seven years before she conceived. Her honesty moved many people across Kenya.
“I remember a few years ago I was labelled a barren woman and everywhere I went people talked about the woman who sings for God but cannot have children.”
The doctor’s note felt final. It read that conception was unlikely. Kambua says the paper broke her heart. She describes the moment in simple terms, as if handing over a small sheet that changed the story of her life; my heart broke into a million pieces. That is how sharp the wound felt.
She counted the years one by one. One, two, three, four, five. The list stretched longer. Each year, a new ache was added. The ministry carried on.
Few knew she wrote songs while she was still waiting. “Throughout my ministry, people said, ‘Kambua, I love your music and you prayed with me and God has done it for me.’ And I said, ‘God, how long will I have to wait?’”
When Kambua brought the doctor’s report home, her husband made a choice. He refused to treat the note as the final verdict.
Instead, he said they should keep it. “My husband said we would keep it to show people how the doctor said versus what God has done for us.”
That decision shifted how they held the story. The paper became a testimony rather than only a wound. It marked the space between human certainty and the surprises that still occur.
Kambua spoke about the pressure society places on women over childbearing. She talked about hushed conversations and how a woman can be reduced to a label. She described the shame and the questions.
She described family gatherings that feel like tests. This pressure is common. It is not only emotional. It often affects relationships and self-worth. In many places, a woman’s value is still judged by her ability to bear children.
- Women are asked invasive questions
- Women are compared to the mothers around them
- Silence grows around loss and infertility
How Music Kept Her Going
Kambua says she received songs in the waiting Kambua says she received songs in the waiting. Music became her companion. It is not surprising that those same songs reached people who needed them. The songs were honest, coming from a place of real longing.
Music gave her language. Music gave others comfort. It was a way to stand in the two spaces at once, joy and sorrow.
by patrick nyamai
