A teenager who moved First Lady Margaret Kenyatta to tears with her gripping poem about living with HIV/AIDS has died.
Eighteen-year-old Francisca Achieng' succumbed to the virus one week after her performance when Mrs Kenyatta visited Busia County to deliver a mobile clinic.
"My grave is your grave, my burial is also yours. Live in my blood comfortably but let's respect one another," she said in a poem that moved the crowd.
After the function, everyone wanted her to perform in their organisations in the region.
Achieng' died before she performed before President Uhuru at State House as promised by the First Lady.
Mary Makokha, the director of a local NGO where Achieng' worked for two years, said her death was a big blow to her organisation.
"We are shocked by her demise. We had a lot in store for her. When she joined this organisation, she had been greatly stigmatised. We counselled her and she began treatment. She became strong, confident and this was seen on Thursday when she entertained the First Lady," said Makokha.
The First Lady eulogised Achieng', saying her message of hope moved her. Yesterday, Mrs Kenyatta noted that HIV remains the biggest killer of adolescents despite the many interventions since its discovery in the 1980s. "We need to talk about sex, about HIV, about drugs, and a whole host of issues," she said.
