Dr Joe Muriuki, the first Kenyan to go public about his HIV status and living with the disease for thirty-five years has died.
The National Empowerment Network of People living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK), confirmed that Dr Muriuki died on Monday night, February 14.
NEPHAK stated that Dr Muriuki was diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer and had been receiving treatment at the Kenyatta National Hospital.
Dr Muriuki shocked the country on September 20, 1987, when he revealed his HIV status. The doctor who diagnosed him with the disease informed him that he only had about three months to live.
“I was a normal young man with a normal lifestyle. I had a promising career as an accountant at Nairobi City Council. I had been losing weight and having other standard symptoms associated with HIV but I assumed it was malaria.
"The doctor ran various tests including one for HIV. On getting the results, the doctor stood and started pacing to the window," Dr Muriuki stated during an interview with the Standard.
Dr Muriuki stated that he had a hunch that something was deeply wrong by the look on the doctor's face. He was informed by the medic of his HIV status which changed his life forever.
“Muriuki, the tests show that you might be HIV positive. You are the first patient I’ve come across with the disease,” the doctor explained.
Doctors advised his wife to get tested and her results were negative, while he was positive. His wife swore that she would stick beside him and keep their vows to the end.
She was three weeks pregnant with their third child at the time and the doctors advised the couple to terminate the pregnancy.
“There was little information about HIV/AIDS and the doctors assumed that the baby would be born with HIV and die immediately afterwards, or would be miscarried.
"They said my wife’s negative results were only temporary and she was going through a 3-month window period before she would test positive,” Dr Muriuki narrated.
However, the couple decided to keep the pregnancy and nine months later, the baby, a healthy boy, was born right and it was HIV negative.
He faced stigma and he was shunned by society. People advised his wife to leave him but she stayed and encouraged her husband.
Dr Muriuki lost his job and in the midst of the storm, he established an organization to educate people on the disease which shocked the world.
“It turned out being “demoted” to that small office affiliated to the clinic and publicly announcing my status was a blessing in disguise. I made valuable connections with people and organisations dealing with HIV/AIDS and began my life’s work of representing and motivating others in the same situation.
"Unlike many who were HIV+ I was always exposed to the newest information on the disease, which has helped me maintain my health over the years,” he stated.
