Radio presenter Steve Jacob Maunda, popularly known as Shatta Bway, has opened up about the health struggles his late wife, Rebecca, alias Becky, endured before her death, recalling her prolonged battle with liver complications and the final conversation they shared.
Speaking during a candid interview with media personality Robetta Bobbie, Shatta Bway recounted how Becky’s illness initially appeared sporadic before her condition gradually deteriorated, resulting in increasingly frequent hospital admissions.
He revealed that his wife had been battling liver complications, with the condition becoming more difficult to manage as time went by.
“Becky, alianza kuwa mgonjwa, tunaenda hospitali tunarudi tunakaa inasaulika tena tunaenda, then it got to a point ikaanza kuwa frequent, maybe angeenda hospitali after like six months sasa ikakuwa monthly anaenda ana two weeks hospitali anarudi nyumbani tena anakuwa mgonjwa alikuwa na shida ya liver,” Shatta disclosed.
The radio presenter said the family remained hopeful throughout the ordeal because Becky would often respond positively to treatment, only for her condition to deteriorate again.
“Tulikuwa fikiria atakuwa better alikuwa anatibia anaimprove tena inarelapse, ni liver tu ndio ilikuwa inamlemea, but after options zote kama kuna transplant, ooh ni ngumu there was alot of trying,” he added.
According to Shatta, Becky repeatedly moved between hospital and home as the family explored various ways of managing her condition.
“Alikuwa anaenda hospitali anarudi nyumbani tena anaenda until mara ya mwisho akaenda hospitali, and that was it,” he said.
Shatta Bway also recalled the final conversation he had with Becky, saying he visited her on a Thursday when doctors were considering discharging her.
He said she appeared exhausted during the visit but asked him to return home and take care of their children.
“The doctors were talking of discharging her; that Thursday we spoke. When I went to hospital to see her she looked very tired tukaongea ongea, the last word she told me was, wacha mimi ni rest wewe enda ukachunge watoto watoto wakitoka shule wakupate kwa nyumba that was Thursday,” Shatta recalled.
Later that evening, Shatta said he tried calling Becky but she did not answer. He visited her the following morning and noticed that her condition had changed.
“Hiyo jioni nampigia simu hashiki, Friday asubuhi nienda kumwona nkaona hayuko sawa yuko but vile ningeexpect nilimwacha hospitali nikaenda kupiga show,” he added.
By Saturday, Becky’s health had deteriorated further, forcing doctors to transfer her from the ward to the High Dependency Unit (HDU), despite earlier plans for her discharge.
“Saturday alizidiwa alikuwa kwa ward akapelekwa HDU na alikuwa akuwe discharged two days ago,” Shatta stated.
Becky died on June 25, 2023, leaving behind her family and loved ones.
Looking back on her final days, Shatta Bway described a difficult period marked by repeated hospitalisations, efforts to find treatment options and the family’s continued hope that she would recover.
Her final request that he return home to care for their children has remained a poignant memory for the radio presenter as he reflects on the illness and events that preceded her death.
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