Why TikToker Manze Wa Mombasa lied about having cervical cancer
By Steve Ireri, November 29, 2025Manze wa Mombasa, the late Brian Chira’s close friend and a widely followed TikToker, captured the attention of social media in the weeks leading up to September 2025 with a series of emotional, heart-wrenching videos. She claimed to be battling cervical cancer, narrating a story of severe and prolonged medical struggles.
According to the videos, her health issues started even before her pregnancy with her third child, which she said led to complications during delivery and required medical interventions.
She described experiencing persistent bleeding for months, requiring her to rely on tampons to manage the flow, and claimed she was advised by doctors to take hormonal treatments to address the issue.
“The cancer started even before I got pregnant with my baby; that’s when it began. I think the cancer is the reason I had to be operated on while giving birth. I had been bleeding a lot in my private parts. I was having menstrual flow for four months and had to use tampons because of the bleeding. When I went to the hospital, they recommended hormonal imbalance medication. In case I don’t make it, guys, please take care of my kids. I have three children; I don’t have many,” the TikToker had shared back then.
Her TikTok videos were always emotionally charged, often punctuated by tears, breakdowns, and pleas for support from her followers.
She portrayed herself as a mother fighting a life-threatening illness while raising three children, emphasising that her situation was desperate and that she needed assistance to navigate daily survival.
At the height of her narrative, she even displayed documents that appeared to be from genuine hospitals, suggesting she had undergone medical tests and received confirmations from doctors. These documents, coupled with her emotional storytelling, made the posts convincing to many of her followers and spurred significant engagement and contributions.
Fake story
However, while speaking to MC Joshua Fagilia in an interview aired on Sunday, November 23, 2025, the TikToker, who has since become a full member of Prophet Kanyari’s church, explained why she fabricated the story.
She said that the narrative was born out of desperation. She recalled that at the time, she faced severe financial hardships, including having her house locked for months due to unpaid rent.
She said that creating the false cancer story was a way to draw support from her online platform, hoping it would provide immediate relief for her and her family.
“I faked having cervical cancer, and I am sorry, guys, for that. Life had pushed me to the edge, and I was even slipping into depression at the time. I decided to say I had cancer. I thought, instead of suffering alone, since I have a TikTok platform, I could run a fake story and see whether it could change my life and even help me get money to pay rent because my house had been locked by the landlord for four months since I couldn’t pay,” she said in the interview.
With three children to care for and no stable home, she had reached a point of extreme stress and depression. She said that creating the false cancer story was a way to draw support from
“People never knew, and I have children, so it was not easy to keep sleeping at other people’s places. By the time I came up with the story, I had reached the end. But our pastor, Prophet Kanyari, came to my rescue and helped me through the difficulties I was facing, and now my life is okay. I am happy,” she added.
Manze wa Mombasa also explained that the story initially gained traction because of her detailed portrayal of illness symptoms, including claims about abnormal bleeding and complications during pregnancy, which made the posts convincing to many.
However, she admitted that the entire narrative was false and stressed that her motivation was survival rather than deception.
“Many people asked me questions I did not know how to answer, so it was a lie. I was going through a lot, including my house being locked due to rent arrears,” she said in the interview.
She credited Prophet Kanyari for intervening after the story was exposed, helping her financially and enabling her to start a small business, which brought stability and a renewed sense of independence.
“The reason I faked it was to receive contributions from people, but the plan did not succeed because some people busted me. After that, it was Pastor Kanyari who gave me Ksh50,000 and later Ksh300,000 to help me start a wines and spirits business. The only thing I can say is that Kanyari is a good person,” she added.
The TikToker emphasised that the experience taught her about the pressures of being a social media personality while managing personal struggles and how desperation can lead to extreme actions. She also reflected on how her online persona had hidden the reality of her challenges, showing the gap between public perception and private reality.
“About cancer, I was facing many challenges in life. As a TikToker, people would look at me online and think I was fine, but that was not the case. That is why I had to come up with the story about cervical cancer,” she shared.