DEPRESSED, YES. LUNATIC, NO! – Story of pain, struggle and recovery
Tabitha Wairimu was a young, attractive university student and winner of the Miss Nairobi University crown when she was suddenly hospitalised at Mathari Mental Hospital because she was thought to have turned crazy. She tells her story of pain, struggle and recovery to MWAURA MUIGANA.
In firm, deliberate, slow steps, Tabitha Wairimu walks the 15 metres from her house to open the gate. As she gets closer, she raises her voice and says, “welcome to my home!”
Tabitha walks gracefully, almost like a model on the catwalk but without the exaggerated swagger and pace.
Tall, curvaceous and striking, Tabitha has a warm smile and firm handshake. She has glamour, grace and polished manners, and her self-confidence is obvious. She ushers me to a canopy-sheltered outdoor extension of her palatial home, where a cool wind blows gently.
As we settle down for the interview, she suddenly becomes serious and a frown forms on her beautiful light-skinned face.
Without much ado, Tabitha starts narrating her dramatic story with obvious pain as she recalls some events.
The genesis…
“I was crowned Miss Nairobi University in 1990 during my first year of college. This title came with the honour to represent Kenya in a beauty pageant in Spain in February 1991. Strange things happened as I prepared for the pageant, and, sadly, on the eve my departure I was declared a lunatic and taken to Mathari Mental Hospital and hospitalised.
No one bothered to listen to me or even find out what was wrong with me before taking me to a mental institution.
Events leading to this sad day have their genesis on my childhood experiences. At the age of three, I was taken away from my family in Murang’a to live with my grandparents in Nyahururu… Subscribe to read more
Source- parentsafrica.com
