Why 'Stella Wangu' by Freshly Mwamburi will never be forgotten

Rhumba icon Freshly Mwamburi, is celebrating 30 years after his girlfriend returned home from Japan with a new man.

The veteran musician expressed his disappointment in his song 'Stella Wangu'.

The record is a love/hate story wonderfully put together.

Every year on May 17, Kenyans reminisce about this great classic.

'Stella Wangu' highlights the story of a young man who fell in love with a young girl who was then a student at Nairobi University.

Just as he was considering settling down for an enchanting life with the girl of his dreams, the young man got the shock of his life when, in the early years of the 1990s, Stella ditched him for another man.

Heartbroken, he went to the studios and, together with his Everest Kings bandmate Abdul Muyonga, recorded the hit song ‘Stella Wangu'.

In an interview last year, Mwamburi said that was his true story. He narrated that he met Stella in 1991 when he went to perform at Garden Hotel in Machakos after his band, Everest Kings, shifted base from Thika.

"At the time Stella was studying at the University of Nairobi, but she left for Japan in 1992 for further studies. She later informed me she wanted to settle down and I gave her my blessings," he said.

He said after she returned to Kenya with a Japanese man, she briefly stayed in Kenya before relocating to Tanzania with her Japanese husband.

Here are comments from Kenyans on Twitter about the enduring legacy of the song;

Nyaguthii Nafula Akinyi Chelang'at: 30 years ago, the OG and best to ever do it, Stella came back home with a degree from abroad, a rich man, and a baby. We honor you this day our Queen, thank you for being a trailblazer"

Manoti@MwendiaJnr: The story of Stella and Freshly Mwamburi reminds us how hypergamy is a cruel mistress, it doesn’t care about your sacrifices, don’t go an extra mile to make her happy."

Omwamba: What lessons have you learned from Freshley Mwamburi and Stella's story?

Wilson: Every year that Stella returns to Kenya, I'm reminded of the fact that women don't care about a man's sacrifices. When hypergramy knocks, nobody is spared. Focus on yourselves Kings."

Check out the song below: