Illustrator and content creator Rama Oluoch, who is popularly known as Ramzzy on social media, has explained why their family YouTube channel was taken down, this as he spoke of parting ways with his wife Shiko Nguru.
Ramzzy and Shiko were among Kenya’s pioneer YouTubers and shared lifestyle content on their channel, The Green Calabash.
They shared glimpses into their private lives including filming the home birth of their youngest son, a practice that is growing in popularity across the globe due to its benefits for both the mother and child.
At the time the channel was being taken down, they had racked up 14 million views and were only 15,000 subscribers short of a YouTube plaque.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because being one of the first couples on YouTube we wanted to end it with a silver plaque but because we had not uploaded content for almost 2 years, it would have been quite hard,” Ramzzy said in a phone interview.
In a separate interview with KTN’s Nailantei Kenga, the art connoisseur also explained that he would like his children to grow up without having their right to privacy having been infringed.
“I think now that my kids are at that age where they are joining school, I just felt like for their own privacy and how they integrate into that life, it is nice that I give them that privacy that I had.
“That is why we took down a lot of the content. Obviously, kids are growing up and will look different from how they were when they were babies, so I would love for them to have that opportunity to blend into society without that pressure and expectation of being Rama’s son or daughter,” he said.
The content creator, who moved from Nairobi to Malindi during the pandemic added that he is considering making a comeback on YouTube and will be showcasing different places in Malindi where tourists can enjoy themselves.
“My platform is a gap in tourism, especially for these sides, when I came here I realised I didn’t know like where to eat, places to visit or activities to do…so I came up with a directory, something like yellow pages for modern tourists,” he explained.
Recently Rama and Shiko announced their separation after more than five years of being together.
She moved back to Nairobi with the children as he stayed at his house in Malindi since he already has an ongoing construction project.
“This is their holiday home… I see them once or twice a month and during the holidays they can always come over,” he said.
BY PULSE KENYA
