A few months ago, celebrities were employed in the ‘Chukua Selfie’ campaign that aimed at spreading awareness on the HIV-self testing kit.
This is because the brand behind the kit was aware of how influential celebrities can be when it comes to spreading HIV awareness and maybe that’s why celebrities are going public with their status.
Here’s a list of celebrities who’ve made their HIV status public:
1.Kamene Goro
On Wednesday, the Kiss 100 presenter went public with her HIV status. A status that caused quite the commotion on social media forcing Kamene Goro to tell people that they need to do better.
“I must be living in the most highly educated ignorant societies in the whole world. Guys, we’re living in the era of HIV/AIDS…The heart of the matter is getting tested, knowing where you stand! Not a negative or a positive test!” Kamene said.
2.Joji Baro
The gay gospel artiste once revealed that he has faced stigma for not only being openly-gay but also HIV positive.
“My family ejected me from home for being gay, and I had to drop out of school due to lack of money. That’s how I became an activist and artist. I have been evicted and arrested countless times for being gay. Against all odds, I have successfully built my niche in the entertainment and human rights sector. What breaks my heart is that I cannot achieve simple things in life, such as finding the love of my life. People avoid me either because I’m openly gay or HIV positive,” he told POZ magazine, a publication for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
3.Otile Brown and Vera Sidika
At the height of their romance, Otile Brown and Vera Sidika went public with their HIV status. Prior to that, Vera had been forced to share her HIV status after Huddah accused her of having the disease.
4.Ray C
The Bongo singer also went public with her status revealing that she was HIV negative.
“Nakuhamasisha wewe unaekiangalia hiki kiduduwasha maana kidogo lakini nakiheshimu sana! Alhamdulilah. #HIVawareness,” Ray C captioned the short video.
5.Prezzo
Days after enjoying a roll in the hay with rapper Noti Flow, Prezzo share his HIV status online.
“KNOW UR STATUS, I JUST HAD TO COZ SOME OF Y’ALL TALK TOO MUCH#GODSSON #ALHAMUDULILLAH #RAPCELLENCY,” wrote Prezzo.
6.Huddah Monroe
Miss Monroe went public with her HIV status in a bid to spread awareness. “It’s usually the scariest thing to know if you are sexually active, but now I know my HIV/AIDS status, do you? It’s never too late to do your test, go now, the earlier the better,” she posted.
7.Binyavanga Wainaina
In 2016, the late author went public with his HIV status in a tweet that read, “I am HIV (sic) Positive, and happy.”
8.Richard Amuok
The pioneer rapper and founder of groups like The Achong Pong Clan and Ukoo Flani contracted HIV in 2010 from a woman in a bar.
“She was beautiful. Agreeable. Nice. Lovely. Shapely. And, most importantly, not a nag. She was my escape and comforter when I felt harassed at home. She was nice, but also, as I would learn years later, a very dangerous woman.
I wouldn’t say I was promiscuous as she was the only other woman other than my wife with whom I slept without protection,” he told the Nation.
9.Vanessa Chettle
The former ‘Nairobi Diaries’ cast member was forced to go public with her HIV status after she was accused of infecting Nick Mutuma, Ephy Saint and Shaffie Weru with the virus. Vanessa took the test live on camera to absolve herself of the accusations.