The Transfiguration Of Lisa Gaitho

Women love to hate her and men love to love her. Lisa Gaitho just wants to be understood. She sets the record straight on the controversies surrounding her and why she is choosing God over the finer things in life.

- Andanje Wobanda

I want to be very clear; I don’t enter relationships because I don’t love myself or because I have self-esteem issues.’.

It is no surprise that a story of famous blogger Lisa Gaitho opens with a disclaimer. Controversy has a way of following her wherever she goes. She tells me that her words are often misconstrued and she hopes this interview will put to bed most of these controversies.

We are seated at Urban Coffee, a quaint little cafe in a nondescript building on Lenana Road. Lisa, who likes to keep time, informs me that she chose the place for its ‘quiet vibe’ and because she had another meeting on the heels of our appointment.

Lisa Gaitho is stunning. Even with minimal make-up and her natural hair up in a simple updo, Lisa has that head-turning beauty that has seen her on every online hot list of Kenyan celebrities. It is hard to reconcile the image before me of a serene woman sipping on an iced latte, with that of a controversial blogger.

Dressed in a simple floral chiffon top and yellow palazzo pants with gold sandals, it is evident that Lisa loves comfort and simplicity above all else. ‘I am currently changing my style to loose-fitting clothes because of my faith,’ she explains. Her accent is hard to define – it is a mix of South African, Nigerian and Kenyan - a pan African accent, we later joked.

At 29, this self-proclaimed oversharer is not shy about dishing out details of her life. If you follow her online, you will know that she has been open about having sex at 15, getting an abortion at 19 and what to do to keep a man. There is more to Lisa than just controversy though. But first, she addresses the controversial, ‘wash your man video.’