Kenyan content creator and singer Diana Marua has never been one to shy away from discussing her past. In a recent candid session with her fans on her YouTube channel, Diana shared intimate details about her early life, past relationships, and the challenges she faced before achieving success.
Diana recounted that her first job involved selling SIM cards for the YU mobile network. She described how she and her then-boyfriend would wake up at 4:30 a.m. and meet by 5:00 a.m., setting out to meet clients by 6:00 a.m. They were tasked with daily targets to sell SIM cards in various areas, including Kibera.
After her stint as a SIM card salesperson, Diana eventually found work as an MPESA agent. At the time, she was living in Baba Dogo, having left home and dropped out of school. With the support of her then-boyfriend, who worked in IT, Diana prepared a CV and sent it to a potential employer. Just two days later, she was called in for an interview.
“After hapo nikafanya MPESA agent. After that nikaandikwa kwa pharmacy. The MPESA agent job was inside a pharmacy… That’s where my life changed. That’s where I got my office job. Nilikuwa nimekaa nasoma gazeti and someone comes and tells me ‘Hi nataka kuwithdraw some money’. I used to wear lab coats so nilikuwa nakaa kama one of the people wenye wanauza madawa. Huyu msee akaniuliza kama hii ni kazi nimesomea … Akanipatia card yake and told me to send him my CV,” she said.
Even after securing an office job, Diana’s personal life was far from smooth. She revealed that a friend, with whom she was living at the time, suddenly threw her out of the house. This left her with no choice but to move in temporarily with her then-boyfriend. Simultaneously, Diana was also maintaining a long-distance relationship with another boyfriend who lived in the United States.
“One day, the girl I was staying with packed my clothes and kicked me out. I moved in with my boyfriend at the time for two months,” Diana said. “I also had a boyfriend abroad. When I told him what happened, he felt sorry for me. But I knew what I wanted, so I strategically positioned myself.”
