Nairobi News

On January 13, Kenyan rapper Petra Bockle posted on social media asking for her fans to help her clear a hospital bill following an emergency surgery that she had to undergo.

Her message read, “Petra needs your help! Yesterday night Petra was rushed to the hospital for an emergency growth removal surgery. She now needs help with the medical bill the balance remaining is Sh100,000. Paybill: 504303 Account number: Petra payment to Healthlink Matcare Limited. Any amount will be appreciated. DM for other forms of payment or contributions.”

This was met with mixed reactions from Kenyans who had not heard from the singer for a while.

If you are a fan of her music then you probably know that Petra releases her music intermittently. And although she does very little talk after, her songs are usually very popular due to her unique rap style.

Hence getting to know much of her personal life can be difficult. Speaking exclusively to Nairobi News Petra spoke about her hospitalisation and what led to her putting up a medical appeal.

The last song you released was last year, where have you been all this while?

I have been around, I just released the song Territory seven months ago featuring Tommy Lee Sparta and the song is doing well. I think by now people know my style I release music and stay behind the scenes to give it the spotlight it needs to shine.

A week ago there was a medical appeal for you, tell us more about that.

Two weeks before the appeal and everything I was not feeling well. I was in a lot of pain. I went to the hospital and was hospitalized for about three days when my blood pressure was high. They did a scan and found that I had something very serious, the best decision was for me to undergo emergency surgery. This resulted in the bill skyrocketing. I was able to pay Sh200,000 but there was a deficit of Sh100,000.

My first instinct was to reach out to close friends which I did, some of whom are big names in the industry but only two responded to my plight. I then had to make a tough decision to go public and as fans to help me. I did not even want the money to come to me the playbill number I put up was for the hospital.

How was the reaction from fans and well-wishers?

Of course, when you hear of someone in the hospital asking for help there is that concern. But for me, it was a mixture of concern and hate. I was very scared I did not know how people would react to me asking for money, being vulnerable in front of everyone. And when I did I got insensitive comments from a section of people saying that as an artiste I should not ask for help and that I do not deserve to be helped. But then there were those who were genuinely concerned and gave their help. I appreciate each and everyone who was able to spare a few coins for me. Now I am recovering from home.

What was your biggest fear?

My biggest fear was that I was going to die. It takes such moments to realize that life is precious and there is still more I want to achieve for myself before I die.

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