Malik Lemuel, better known as Govi on the blockbuster show Machachari, did not, according to popular perception, grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. From his appearances on the long-running show Machachari, he has gained widespread recognition.
During an interview that aired on Jalang’o’s YouTube channel last year, Govi said that he grew up in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga slum in Wangige and Imara Daima.
Kenyatta Hospital, a public facility, is where I entered the world in 2000. House hunting was a common family activity when I was a kid. Dad would take us to visit his relatives, only to have us ejected time and time again. First we were in Wangige, then in Imara Daima, and now we’re in South B. It was a great struggle for us until my dad travelled to the United Arab Emirates, and the Machachari concert fell into place,” Govi recalled.
What was shocking, though, was Govi’s story about how, at the age of five, he had to leave his home in South B and start working as a matatu tout to help support his family. When I was five years old, I was a Makanga at South B, which meant I could leave school and head straight to the matatu stages to help fill up the buses. He explained, “I was learning the ropes from my cousin.”
The interview with the former child star of Machachari revealed how he became famous thanks to his parts in Makutano Junction, Machachari, and other films. As a matter of fact, Govi’s first job was a voice over for Famila Uji when he was just two years old. Things for him and his family improved “after the Machachari gig,” he said.
Govi clarified in the same interview that, contrary to speculations, he had not been fired from the show but had resigned voluntarily.
The 22-year-old is currently enrolled at the university and majoring in international relations. In a recent question and answer session with his Instagram followers, he made news by revealing that he is interested in dating both younger and older women.
In addition, he is a business owner. He told them about his new venture, Dutch House designers, in which the company’s primary focus is the design and sale of residential real estate. Dilip Tours and Travel is a partnership he’s a part of.
In any case, the young man hasn’t totally retired from acting. The first and only local free-to-air children’s television station, Akili Kids, features him in an educational teen TV series called Flash Squad.
