Nini Wacera: Having an abortion as a teen ‘ripped me to the core of my soul’

Veteran actress Nini Wacera has confessed to procuring an abortion when she was a teenager, saying it “ripped her to the core.”  

The 44-year-old who returned to the screens this year after a long hiatus, playing the antagonist on Country Queen, confessed to procuring an abortion at the age of 19.

Speaking to the latest issue of Parents Magazine, the mother of one said that she wanted to keep the baby but at the time she did not have support.

“I feel like it's one experience in my life that ripped me to the core of my soul because it was traumatic. That abortion took like the whole day. After all, you’re the loose girl who had sex with your boyfriend and got pregnant,” she says on the October issue.

The veteran actress said that the situation even made her suicidal – she attempted to take her own life but her mother intervened. She, however, did not get the necessary counselling, she adds.

From her experience, Wacera believes the Kenyan culture where sex education continues to be considered as a taboo needs to be demystified.

“Sex positivity teaches people how to appreciate sex with a positive mind. It’s also teaching consent. When I was sexually molested as a child, I couldn’t tell my mum about it because sex was not spoken about.”

Wacera’s role on Country Queen has thrust her back into the limelight having led a quiet life for a couple of years aware from public glare.

She rose into prominence in 2003 when she was among the top cast members of the Wingu La Moto, a soap Opera that aired on NTV for three years.

Wacera portrays Vivienne on Country Queen, a series that explores the fast-paced and perilous world of the city and slower rural life highlighted by the Tsilanga community.

Vivienne runs Eco-Rock, a prominent mining company which sets foot in the quiet village of Tsilanga eyeing to exploit its vast gold reserves. Eco-Rock, however, faces rebellion from the community.

Despite Tsilanga’s opposition, the hard hearted mining mogul Vivienne will stop at nothing to get what she came for. Vivienne has the backing of her charming husband Max (played by Blessing Lung’aho), a former gangster who now runs the seedy side of the company.

For her role, Wacera recently bagged the Best Supporting Actress Africa at the just concluded Zikomo Awards held in Zambia.

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