Benga queen Princess Jully is dead

Benga queen Lillian Auma well known as Princess Jully is dead.

The Dunia Mbaya hit song singer died on Saturday after a short illness.

The 51-year-old songbird had been admitted at the Migori County Referral Hospital where she was receiving treatment for the last two months.

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One of her sons Bradley Ogudah said she had gone into comma but had showed signs of improving in early August.

“She is dead. She has been sick for two months,” Mr Ogudah said.

Princess Jully rose to fame when she sang her hit song ‘Dunia Mbaya’ which was inspired by how she saw her friends die, owing to the lifestyle they lived.

The song bird who was married as a third wife to the late Jully Okumu (Prince Jully) also produced Malo Malo and Akuru among other songs.

The queen of Benga who is fondly referred to as Alili Nyagina had been out of the music scene for quite some time but rejoined the music world in 2020 as she could no longer hold herself and see her talent run to waste.

Princess Jully who had formed her band came back to her husband’s home in Nyatike Sub-County, Migori County in 2010 after life in the city became unbearable.

She later relocated to Bondo Nyironge, leaving the high-end life she lived during her hey days and bought a piece of land and started building her house.

She then engaged in gold mining, cattle and tobacco businesses to sustain her daily needs at a time when all hope seemed to be lost.

A flashback of how she used to perform and constant dreams of 'things' singing in the air and sometimes caught with lack of sleep until she danced her heart out and played the guitar for her to get to sleep have been some of the things that prompted her to go back to the music scene and she would perform home and away.

Despite old age catching up with her when she was still alive, the Benga queen’s voice was still as strong as it was during the days when she first joined the music world.

Her late husband’s band, Jolly Boys band held tight to her despite the predicaments she faced after the death of her husband in 1997.