As we celebrate Father’s Day this June, some people like Brian Silweyz and Boniface Mwangi are not lifting their glasses to biological fathers, but to father figures who were gifted to them by the world and the heavens.

For Silweyz, who was raised by his grandfather, he is clear, if it were not for his granddad, Wilson Silwe, he would not be who he is today.

At just three months old, his grandfather scooped him into his arms and never let go. Together with his grandmother, Cecilia, they raised him in Matayos, Busia, not out of duty, but out of love.

“I remember when he bought me my first uniform. He walked into my school and said I’m his lastborn son. People looked confused but to him, I was his child, through and through. No shame, just pride,” he says.

With a tender smile, Silweyz adds, “He always told me he dropped out of school in Class Four. So, when I got to Class Five, it was more than a promotion, it was a celebration. He told me, ‘Every class you go beyond this, you carry the family name forward.’ Education meant the world to him.”

Looking at his grandfather’s photo on his phone, he says, beyond school, beyond care, if he hadn’t taken him in, his artistic name Silweyz wouldn’t exist.

"I chose my name from him, "Silwe" because everything I am came from the love he gave me."

And he gives it back now ,not just in words, but in action.
“My greatest moment was taking them to a restaurant in Busia. Seeing the joy in their eyes as they ate, laughed, and simply lived… it touched something deep in me. That joy? That was them tasting the fruits of the love they planted in me and that of my work. The young boy they raised is a star,” he says, noting how happy his grandfather is when he sees him perform for crowds and on TV.

Even now, as an adult, his grandfather stands by him. “I hosted a show recently, and they travelled all the way from Busia just to attend. That level of support? It’s unmatched. I just want to make him proud every single day,” Silweyz remarks.

He laughs as he shares a heartwarming coincidence. “My mentor in the arts, Willy Oeba, and my grandfather both share the name Wilson. It’s like God was reinforcing what I already knew, that the most important men in my life were divinely aligned.”

As for Mwangi, he attributes his success as an award winning photographer to his uncle, Ng’ang’a Karanja. A man who held his hand when the world was too big to face alone.

“Nairobi can chew you up, especially if you come in with no one holding your hand,” he says. “During my college years in 2004, my uncle gave me a home. He gave me fare daily. Sometimes Sh200, sometimes more. Whatever he had, he gave it. He sacrificed so I wouldn’t miss school.”

It wasn’t just the money or the roof. It was the feeling that someone believed in him. That he mattered and that his dream was worth investing in.

Boniface says the greatest virtue he learnt from his uncle was giving wholeheartedly, adding that he practices selfless giving now.

"I know how it feels when someone steps in not because they have to, but because they want to. That kind of love changes you.”

His message to Uncle Ng’ang’a: “May God bless you with health, joy, and everything you deserve. You gave me more than shelter. You gave me a future.”

These men, Wilson Silwe, Ng’ang’a Karanja, and countless others, raised men of substance.

Men who understand compassion because they received it.

Happy Fathers’ Day!

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