I had to be put in ICU for six days as it was that bad – Cindy Abila opens up after being assaulted

By Eleanor Nandwa | 9yrs ago | 4 min read

Pulse: When you released Closer with Ulopa in 2011, you used to be Cindy. When did you change your name to Cara? Cara Feral: I changed my name to Cara as I felt that was appropriate for the kind of image I wanted to portray. I now prefer using my new stage name Cara Feral as it represents my brand. Cindy Abila is my official name.

P: Closer was your debut track? CF: The first song I recorded was titled Street Love. That was back in high school. I recorded it with an artiste named T-Anchor who later went into politics. My next song was in 2011 and it featured Ulopa, Kevin Bosco recorded the video.

P: That means music has been in your blood since you were a kid... CF: Let us say I was just a kid singing and dancing in church, participated in drama festivals both in primary and high school.

P: You come out as a bitter person talking about your ex-boyfriend on your social pages... CF: Well, that was three years ago.

P: Is he someone in the limelight, like a celebrity? CF: No. He is not in the limelight.

P: You claimed that he physically assaulted you? CF: Yes, he did.

P: Tell us about the experience... CF: I had to be put in ICU for six days as it was that bad. However, that is behind me now. It is not something I fancy talking about.

P: What measures have you since taken? CF: There was a court case but it has since been adjourned.

P: What do you mean adjourned? CF: It is over. It was dismissed on legal grounds.

P: You come out sounding like you are the one who was in the wrong. Is it hard to admit that? CF: All I can say is that that was then. It was a hard relationship since this guy was posted to Afghanistan and the relationship became hard to manage. We were going through pressure as I was here in Nairobi where I grew up and he was away.

P: Since then, do you look at men the same way? CF: Well, I came to realise that men can get more emotional than women. I can never mess with matters of the heart anymore. I am cautious not to repeat the same mistake that got me in that situation again.

P: Are you amicable with each other? CF: Like I said, I consider that a matter of the past now, my family and I have moved on from the experience. We are on talking terms right now.

P: What is your advice to women who are in an abusive relationship? CF: I was never in an abusive relationship. It happened only once but my advice to them would be to get a support system and get out of that situation as soon as possible.

P: What did you learn from the experience? CF: I learnt not to take advantage of things no matter how small they are and to live everyday like it is your last.

P: Let’s get back to music; what projects are you working on right now? CF: I recently featured in a new video, Safer City, featuring Ng’ang’alito, Shamir, Nazizi, Freeman, Naziza and Majirani. I’m also currently working on my new single and video for Kati Kati. I still have a number of projects aligned including collaboration with an artiste from Mombasa and another one from Tanzania.

P: Where have you been all this time? CF: I had taken time to find out what direction I really wanted to take musically.

P: Are you keen on collaborating with other artistes? CF: Yes, I am but more importantly, I am working on building my brand Cara Feral and putting it out there.

P: Considering that it is not easy for a newbie to make a music breakthrough in Kenya, how has the push been, so far? CF: It is a hustle. I have had to push myself and sacrifice a lot. Putting in time and hard work to improve on my own personal growth, image and music have been top on the agenda. I believe in working hard if you want to be successful. Easy-come things don’t last.