Mr Daniel Muiyoro Kimani. He has been living with HIV/Aids for the past 29 years.
“Having HIV doesn’t stop me from being happy. Don’t allow HIV diagnosis to become a barrier to living a full life."
These are the words of Daniel Muiyoro Kimani, a resident of Nairobi Area in Mpeketoni, Lamu County.
Mr Kimani, 53, has been living with HIV/Aids for the past 29 years. He was diagnosed with the virus at the age of 24 and by then, he was single.
Today, Mr Kimani is married and is a father of five children, all of whom are HIV-negative.
During his interview with the Nation in Mpeketoni, Mr Kimani said acceptance is the greatest strength that has enabled him to reach this far.
He says sometime in 1996, he took the courage to visit a health centre to know his HIV status, especially after a recurrent illness.
He says before entering the facility, he had already made up his mind to accept the results whether positive or negative. After a series of tests, he was found to be HIV positive.
“Once I discovered it, I accepted the results. I knew it wasn't a death sentence at all. I encourage people today that you only need to accept the status even before you test. Don’t wait until you get the results before either accepting or denying what you’ll get. Doing so will push you into a deeper bush, that's depression,” said Mr Kimani.
He says back then, he feared he would only live for a few more years and never have children. But he thanks God for the move he took.
“I immediately started attending support-group meetings within Mpeketoni, Lamu and even outside as a participant. Through the support group meetings I attended, I met the love of my life. She was also HIV-positive,” said Mr Kimani.
After sharing their stories and journey in life, and through the guidance and counselling they received from the support group, the two became husband and wife.
Today, Mr Kimani and his wife have been blessed with five children, all HIV-negative, with the firstborn being 26 years old.
The second born is aged 21 years, the third born 14 years, the fourth born 11 years while the last born is four years old.
Medication
He attributes the success in raising HIV-negative children despite both of them as parents being HIV-positive to the support they got, and also the fact that they have been following religiously on all matters surrounding clinic and medication.
“It doesn’t mean when parents are HIV-positive, they will give birth to children with an HIV-positive status. It’s very possible to give birth to HIV-negative children. I can confidently bear witness to that since it has happened to me first-hand,” said Mr Kimani.
He cites stigma as one of the major factors that are still forcing HIV-positive patients into isolation, denial and lives shrouded in secrecy.
Mr Kimani encouraged HIV-positive individuals to air their statuses as a weapon against stigmatisation and discrimination in society.
He says it is unfortunate that many HIV-positive individuals are unable to disclose their status to anyone just because of fear of stigma.
He insists that it is important for one to air out their status to the whole world as that is what he has been doing all year around.
“This has enabled me to fight stigma in the community. Once everyone knows your status, it’s easier that way instead of you witnessing people pointing fingers at you and saying that guy is HIV-positive. If they happen to hear from you they will not have the guts to stigmatise you,” said Mr Kimani.
“Instead, they will be saying maybe Kimani is not HIV-positive…and that has given me a great courage to stand before congregations and tell them of my status, how to prevent further infections in society and what to do to bring forth HIV-negative children even when one is infected with the virus.”
According to Kimani, one of the saddest moments in his journey was when he attended a ceremony within Mpeketoni. As they served food, one of the two women holding plates of 'pilau' whispered to her friend not to give him food since he is HIV-positive.
“I want to send a message out there that HIV is not spread through sharing plates. It’s transmitted when blood from an infected person comes into contact with a wound or blood from a negative-status person. Sexual intercourse without protection is also a key method of spreading HIV. Stop discriminating against HIV-positive people,” said Mr Kimani.
His regret in life is when he led a carefree life during his youthful age, taking alcohol and smoking bhang, a behaviour that forced him to drop out of school at Form Three.
Enough cash
“During my youthful age, I would steal money from my mother’s shop. My uncles and aunts would also give me enough cash. This made me go to school with loaded pockets only to spend the money on alcohol, bhang and women. And that’s the time I was infected with HIV. Had I lived a straight life, my status wouldn’t be like what it is now,” he said.
He advises HIV-positive people to let their family members know of their status instead of hiding.
He says his five children know their status as parents, and that has helped them a lot to manoeuvre in life.
“I know of my wife’s status, she knows mine. Our children, as well, know our statuses and sometimes they are the ones reminding us on what time to take medication. They know why we’re taking those drugs. There’s no pressure at all,” says Mr Kimani.
His parting shot to people who are not HIV-positive is that, “If you would like to remain negative and safe, for a minor, that’s, below 18 years, complete abstinence is the best way to go. But if you’re above 18, you’re an adult. You can choose to have a spouse or not. And before you get into marriage, make sure you always protect yourself during intercourse or stick to one partner.”
Speaking to Nation.Africa, Lamu County HIV and AIDS Coordinator Fatma Mohamed Bunu lauded Mr Kimani for being vocal and one of the active champions helping HIV-positive people overcome despair, hopelessness and stigma in society.
“Mr Kimani is a courageous and vocal champion for people living with HIV and Aids and I appreciate it,” said Ms Bunu.
Ms Bunu says that 40 years since the first case of HIV was reported in Kenya in 1984, great strides have been made, especially advances in research that has placed Kenya at a better place in taming HIV.
The disease shook the country to the core, and even as efforts to bring it under control rolled in, it was still running a bit too fast, and in 1999, President Daniel arap Moi declared HIV a national disaster.
“Today, we’re at a better place as a country in taming HIV from the scare that it was about four decades ago to a manageable condition which, on many fronts, has been conquered. In Lamu, for instance, we had 2,396 HIV infections that had been enrolled by 2022. Today, 2024, the cases are reduced to only 1,782,” said Ms Bunu.
