Mwangi, also known as Kiki wa Ng’endo, was first diagnosed with HIV as a teenager after sleeping with men for money to take care of herself and her nephew. This was after her mother left her and her sister in the care of their aunt to go and work in the United States.
The 36-year-old, who made the startling revelation on Thursday September 17, in an interview with Kenya’s online news portal, TUKO, justified her action saying she picked the disease from an infected person who also did not care to warn her.
Mwangi said it was her sexual partners’ responsibilities to protect themselves and not hers.
“At the end of the day, I can not be your keeper. You know you do not know me. I am not related to you yet you want to have sex with me, why don’t you wear a condom or take a test with me if I am comfortable and if I am not, ask me to wear a condon?” she posed.
Kiki further revealed she decided to go public with her status because she wanted men to stop approaching her for sex after she developed complications in her private parts.
According to her, the condition has made her lose interest in sex after 18 years of selling her body to sexually hungry men for money.
She also wanted to warn men against sleeping with every woman they come across, create awareness and ask her family to stop insulting her every other time.
She blamed her woes on her mother who she claimed despised and mistreated her after she left the country to work in the US.
According to Kiki, her mother would send money to their aunt but she never took care of them and when their mother learned of her new escapades, she mistreated her till date.
She had to drop out of high school and when her uncle tried talking her into going back to school, that was when she tested positive for HIV.
“It was heartbreaking, I stayed without taking medication but was just pushing on with life. At some point I went upcountry and came back to Nairobi and that was when I attempted suicide,” she said.
Kiki now decries being abandoned by both her family and friends who know about her status. The stigmatisation she faced has left her depressed and emotionally drained.
