Kikuyu gospel maestro Beatrice Wairimu Mbugua, aka Betty Bayo, is dead.
Bayo passed away on Monday, 10 November 2025, at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.
Her death was confirmed by her ex-husband, Pastor Victor Kanyari, father of her two children, who wrote on social media:
“R.I.P. Mama Sky. The mother to my kids.”
Also paying tribute, Bishop Muthee Kengei revealed that Bayo had been battling advanced-stage leukaemia.
“She leaves behind a legacy of a great contribution to the growth of the gospel music industry… She has rested after serving,” he wrote.
Bayo’s rise to national fame is attributed to her hit gospel anthem “Eleventh Hour”—a song that resonated across church pews and radio waves alike and established her as one of Kenya’s most influential gospel voices.
Behind the spotlight, she was a mother of two, a businesswoman and a joyful artist whose warm laughter and soaring voice lit many stages.
But more recently her energy had waned, and the diagnosis came: blood cancer at an advanced stage.
Her personal life included a high-profile relationship with Pastor Victor Kanyari. The two, however, separated following his “310” scandal.
READ ALSO: Pastor Kanyari Mourns ‘Only Sister’ Starlet Wahu Mwangi in Moving Tribute: ‘Beautiful but Stubborn’
Bayo later married Hiram Gitau (Tosh). Fellow artists remembered her as humble, gifted, and an inspiration to young gospel talents.
One of her fans mourned:
“I will never forget your satin-voiced refrains, the soft closing of a hymn. A spirit that praised unabated, now at rest.”
Betty Bayo leaves behind her children, her mother, siblings, husband, a grieving music industry and a chorus of fans whose lives were touched by her song.
“Rest in peace, Betty Bayo. Cancer may have claimed your body, but your voice endures,” another fan mourned.
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