By Chebet Korir

Socialites. People are glued to their timelines, poking their noses at their business. What they wear, how much their lavish trips abroad cost and who they are dating. In a nutshell, that entails the life of a socialite and that is what their fans want to see.

In the decades gone by, a socialite was described as an individual coming from a wealthy, privileged background, with a high position in society and enjoys spending time in social gatherings. The likes of The Kardashians, Paris Hilton, Nicol Richie and Ivana Trump were able to inherit huge amounts of money that made it easier for them to become ‘famous’.

In Kenya, a socialite is defined as a person who shows up in numerous social events and spends a significant period of time entertaining and being entertained. They must have a large social media following and the females must be curvy, beautiful, fashion-forward and ‘financially stable’.

However, it takes work to be a socialite, but taking a closer look at them shows they are losing the term ‘socialite’ and surprisingly we might not have any left. This raises the question, what are they currently up to and do they still deserve the socialite tag?

Six years ago, Vera Sidika first came into the limelight after being featured on a music video titled You Guy by P-Unit featuring Collo. Her curvaceous body was her selling point and bargaining power and since then, her life has never been the same. She later gained a large social media following after admitting to have lightened her skin.

A year later, she ventured into business and launched her brand of detox tea that saw high-end celebrities grace the event. In 2018 she launched her beauty shop, Vera Sidika Beauty Parlour, at the Western Heights in Westlands, Nairobi. She, on the other hand, seems to have diverted from her so-called sociallite life to concentrate on the business. 

“I am not a socialite. I am an entrepreneur. I run my businesses across the globe. I run my beauty parlour here in Nairobi and I have also started a music career besides by interior graphics jobs,” she said recently in an interview with a local publication.

The competition

Huddah Monroe also popped up at the same time with Vera and participated as a contestant in the season eight of Big Brother Africa reality show in South Africa. However, she has since then been living a flashy lifestyle. But in the recent past, she has seen her focus shift to her cosmetic line, Huddah Cosmetics.

We then saw the rise of other socialites such as Risper Faith, Pendo, Maura Malanga, Bridget Achieng and making a name for themselves through social events, parties and music videos. Risper came into the limelight after being featured in a music video by Blaqy titled Money Maker. A section of Kenyans expressed mixed reactions towards the video and the video vixen, Risper.

However, five years down the lane — after being featured on TV show Nairobi Diaries as an actress — she has turned a new leaf, choosing to focus on her young family and businesses that include wines and spirits outlets and underwear line, Risper Faith Creations.

Corazon Kwamboka rose to fame as a socialite after her seminude photos began doing rounds on the Internet showing off her curves. By then, she was a law student at the University of Nairobi and later graduated as an advocate. However, she later insisted that her main focus was on her clothline, Genio Wear. She says started her law practice, registered a firm and went to court a few times, but she would rather stick to giving legal advice on her Instagram page.

Socialite Bridget Achieng gives a different narrative: “The meaning of socialite was changed by those who came before us. I do still term myself as one, but with a different approach of helping others through my YouTube channel and helping the needy,” she tells Spice.

She says her main agenda was to join the social scene and get a few coins that would propel her to the next level.

“Many people would think that if I went to Nigeria or Malaysia, I was meeting and sleeping with old men, but in all honesty, I was just going to get a stock for my business,” she says, adding that she has never been attracted to older men.

Bridget is currently a mother and she has ventured into the business of event organising. “I am organising Naifest (a music festival) and I am planning to jet in a well-known international artiste. Also, in terms of gracing events, I believe my rate card has gone higher because my level of engagement and standards have also elevated.” she says. 

Regrets barred

Some seven or so years ago, Maura Malanga was once the ‘it’ thing in social life. She toured with celebrities and was paid handsome amounts of money to host events in nightclubs. She also caused frenzy with her curvaceous figure. But she is no longer about that life anymore.

She says, “I can never go back to those days, I do not regret though, but life has so much more to offer.”

Maura adds that she is currently a communications administrator at a bank in Nairobi and also pursuing her second degree. “I am enjoying the changes that come with ‘old’ age. I do not regret anything, but it’s life,” she says.

For the likes of Vanessa Chettle, life seemingly changed after giving birth. However, she has been spotted with a new man and the lass is allegedly having a good time. She first came into the scene when rumours began circulating that she had a fling with radio personality Shaffie Weru.

She went ahead to appear on Nairobi Diaries, but later disappeared only for the grapevine to find out that she was pregnant. Fast-forward after giving birth, she relocated to Eldoret and life changed.

“I am now focused on raising my child and creating a perfect lifestyle for both of us. Life for me has drastically changed, but I still have my partying days. My daughter still comes first before anything,” she says.

We have seen many faces of Pendo or as many may call her, ‘The Ghetto Princess’. She was once a socialite, video vixen, musician and businesswoman. She has also been the longest-serving cast on Nairobi Diaries, which runs on K24 TV. Though her engagement did not go well, she seems to be doing much better. She refused to say much about the changes in her life since, because “I am not in a position to talk about that right now.”

Regional effect

In Uganda, things are no different. Zari Hassan has to be the biggest name in the Ugandan ‘socialite industry’. From the vehicles she drives, the men she dates to the clothes she rocks, she is news any day. Well, she made major news after ending her relationship with Tanzanian singer Diamond Platnumz in 2018. Their relationship gave them two children. Well, currently, she is a mother of five, an entrepreneur with most of her investments in South Africa. She also owns a cosmetic shop and a tertiary college and still pursues a career in music.

Bad Black was also a socialite from Uganda. Famously known as the ‘11 Billion Girl’, she landed on a British businessman who spent all his investments on her. She spent most of her money in clubs and parties. Later on, she was locked up for four years for allegedly conning his ex-boyfriend, but was later released. She is back on the scene and she has an American boyfriend who recently bought her a Mercedez Benz.

In Tanzania, things are a bit tough for socialites as President John Magufuli cracked the whip on those who were fond of sharing raunchy photos on social media. The axe affected quite some socialites and even musicians such as Gigy Money and Pretty Kind who were banned for six months.

Seemingly affected or scared of the ban, many of them, including the most acclaimed such as Hamisa Mobettow, Wema Sepetu, Amber Lulu, have been treading carefully posting photos of them in decent outfits.