Social Media influencer Lydia Wanjiru’s story tells it all: hardships, triumphs and resilience. Despite a difficult upbringing, Wanjiru says she’s defined by grace and favour. I define her as a lady full of life and light.
She is known for her authenticity on social media which has attracted praise and criticism in equal measure.
In 2002, a young Wanjiru lost her mother and her grandmother took up the role of a guardian – in honour of her mum’s dying wish. Her life, however, turned topsy-turvy when her relatives made her do all the house chores.
“My life changed and I became like a house girl and yes, they were my relatives. I have my cousins but there were so many differences in how we were raised,” she says.
In 2007, while still living with her relatives, her uncle sexually assaulted her and the whole family conspired to hide the incident to protect the family’s name and ensure her uncle’s wife didn’t leave.
These incidents made her leave home after she completed her KCSE and that is when she started doing small jobs to make a living.
A ray of hope came during the Covid-19 pandemic, when she turned to content creation and became a brand.
Throughout her life, Lydia wasn’t comfortable with her body and sought to do a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) procedure – a topic that sparked a debate in the online space.
“I wanted a liposuction, Tummy tuck, BBL… I was given a go-ahead by the doctors but it took a month of preparing my body before I had the surgery,”
“Some say it looks like ‘royco cubes’ but how is it supposed to look like?” Wanjiru remains defiant, refusing to let digital bullies dictate her worth”.