On Tuesday morning, Kenyans received the heartbreaking news of the death of celebrated Reggae MC Jahmby Koikai. Known as Fyah Mummah, Koikai passed away at the Nairobi Hospital on Monday around 9 pm, according to her family. She had been admitted to the hospital and had made an appeal for blood.
In the weeks leading up to her death, Koikai took to Instagram to send a message to President William Ruto before his US State visit. She urged the President to prioritize and champion investment in health during his visit to the US.
“This is a sincere call of help to a few Kenyan leaders but allow me to address this to President William Ruto first as he makes his state visit to the US. Mr President, one of the thematic areas in your visit is investment in health,” Njambi noted in the post.
“Atlanta, Georgia is a dream city for every young girl and woman who has ever battled this horrific disease called endometriosis. Therein lies a centre dedicated to restoring the lives of young girls and women who are crippled by this disease,” she said.
Njambi’s life took a challenging turn after being diagnosed with endometriosis, a rare and painful condition affecting over 170 million women worldwide. Endometriosis occurs when the tissue lining the uterus grows outside of it, leading to painful spasms.
This condition causes severe pelvic pain and complicates conception for women of reproductive age. Statistics indicate that up to 10 percent of women in this age group globally are affected by endometriosis.
“In my case that lining grew on my lungs, causing my lungs to collapse every month and countless number of surgeries. It took me 17 years to get a diagnosis,” Njambi said in her appeal for the President’s intervention.
She said her condition had progressed and caused severe damaged due to late diagnosis and lack of treatment in Kenya.
“After fundraising for specialised treatment, the extent of the disease had spread to my teeth, heart and appendix and affected my spine causing my organs to shift to the left. The adverse effects of Endometriosis and Adenomyosis cause infertility,” Njambi said.
According to her, one in 10 women are battling endometriosis worldwide and the numbers are staggering.
She said that due to the traditions and taboos, young girls and women are shamed to believe that period pain is normal.
“As you commence your State visit to the US, I’d like to kindly add a few visits that would help the millions of Kenyan women battling in silence,” Njambi said in her message to Ruto.
