Singer Mrisho Mpoto reveals late wife asked him to bath her before passing on
By Steve Ireri, July 16, 2025Tanzanian poet and singer Mrisho Mpoto has shared a heartbreaking account of his wife Mariam Mobetto Mpoto’s final moments, revealing that she had made a deeply emotional request shortly before her death.
Speaking to Tanzanian YouTuber Rick Media on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Mrisho narrated that his wife, who had been ailing for some time, asked him to bath her—something she said they had not done together in a long while despite their many years of marriage.
“She told me, ‘My husband, when was the last time we bathed together?’ You know, when you have lived together for long, you get used to each other,” he said.
According to Mrisho, his wife insisted that she could no longer bath on her own due to her health condition and wanted him to help her.
Respecting her wish, he says he drew water in the jacuzzi and gently bathed her late at night, around 2:00 am.
He says after the bath, they spent time together, holding each other in bed, and she asked him to embrace her throughout the night.
Mrisho says he held her until morning.
“So I went and filled the jacuzzi with water and bathed her. It was around 2:00 am. I bathed her nicely. Then we got into bed, and she said, ‘Hold me.’ I was surprised again and asked, ‘Why?’ She said, ‘Just hold me.’ So I held her until morning.”
The following morning, at around 6:00 am, Mariam woke him up, complaining that the device they used to check her blood pressure seemed to be malfunctioning. Concerned, Mrisho says he rushed her to a nearby clinic.
Upon examination, doctors confirmed her blood pressure was abnormally high. Even in that state, she repeatedly asked about the whereabouts of her sheikh.
“At around 6:00 am, she woke me up. Her blood pressure machine was not working well—it seemed to be giving inconsistent readings. She told me, ‘Let us go to the health centre and have it checked.’ We went, and when the doctor checked her, her pressure was high.”
He says that after hearing that her spiritual guide was coming, Mariam excused herself to go to the bathroom, but she never returned, as she died there.
“In the evening, she kept asking, ‘Where is my sheikh?’ I told her he was on the way, at home already. When she heard her sheikh was coming, she said she wanted to go to the toilet. She went… but she never returned. She collapsed in there, and her heart stopped.”
Visibly pained, Mrisho noted that what hurts him most is that his wife had repeatedly asked him that morning whether they would be able to return home that day.
He expressed regret, saying he did not know those would be her last words.
“I was outside in the car. The doctors came and called me. What hurts me the most is that she kept asking, ‘Do you think we will go home today?’”