Conjestina retires to the village

By RUSHDIE OUDIA

“I was called by someone from Nairobi that Conjestina was picking up leftovers from rubbish bins and eating for lack of food,” said Conje’s father Clement Adala.

This was the matter that forced him to take his daughter away from Nairobi back to Siaya County.

For the past one month, Kenya’s top female pugilist  has been staying with her parents at their Umiru village, Nyamninia sub-location in Siaya. She had left Nairobi after apparently failing to take care of herself and because her condition was becoming worse having suffered mental disorder earlier.

When The Nairobian team visited her in Umiru village, her parents looked sad. They kept looking at their daughter, who was once a boxing champion, but is now unable to even fend for herself or even communicate sensibly. Conje together with her only son are staying at home surviving on the little they can get from their parents.

Last year her condition made her to be taken to Mathari Hospital, a matter that made her pause her boxing career that had already started flourishing.

Adala showed The Nairobian a letter from Mathari Hospital dated June 18 that indicated Conje was diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder/paranoid schizophrenia. She was admitted to Mathari last September 8 after she relapsed in a psychotic episode.Conje had earlier been treated for the same in January 2011 but apparently she relapsed after failing to take her medication citing lack of funds.

On review on June 17, she appeared calm but in a depressed mood. “There was no psychotic features and it was reported that she had stopped taking drugs after they got finished and could not be bought due to lack of money,” said Adala.

Mathari consultant psychiatrist, Dr Nelly Kitazi advised her to undergo counselling individually and with her family.

Apart from that, Conje was advised to resume her medication and engage in gainful employment. Her father said Conje stopped taking medication because of stress and also after the prescription elapsed they could not afford to buy the drugs.

In a letter dated September 6 last year addressed to Mathari Hospital medical superintendent on admission to the institution, Dr Ngugi Gatere said ‘Conje’ was talking a lot, aggressive, lacked a lot of sleep and refused to take medication prescribed for her.

When she was interviewed she had hallucinations that directed her on what to do. She claimed to have a clock in her head that directed her on what to do and that “aeroplanes” were monitoring her movements. 

“She further claimed that she was married to Leila Ali, with whom they had a baby through the internet,” said Dr Gatere.

Her condition has left her parents with little to do with their only consolation being thatshe is closer to them and that they can take good care of her. The former boxer was said to be unable to even go look for food with her only option being snatching anything from anyone she saw on the road in Nairobi.

This made her parents fear because she could run into trouble with the authorities or risk being beaten badly by the public.

“Where we are here we can monitor her movements and at least give her some food to eat,” Adala said.

Conje had been helped by friends under the Pamoja Conje Initiative, among them renowned Genge musician Herbert Nakitare aka Nonini, who paid her house rent in Nairobi and together with Bernard Kioko catered for her son’s school fees.

Her mother Caroline revealed how it has been difficult to deal with her daughter’s condition for the past three years. Caroline said sometimes Conje is okay but when she remembers what she had achieved earlier and where she is currently, she becomes aggressive.

The family continues to plead with the government not to abandon the sportsmen and women who have carried the country’s flag high as it is embarrassing to Kenya.

On October 19, 2011, the then Minister of Heritage William ole Ntimama said the Kenyan Heroes Bill that outlines the criteria for honouring heroes and heroines had been approved by Cabinet and would be enacted into law.

“President Uhuru has a good heart and can really help Conjestina regain her lost glory, let him hear our prayer and ensure she gets proper medication,” Adala appealed.

The parents also fear some people will try and take advantage of their daughter’s situation to gain financially. Adala cited a case in which a man lured Conjestina into buying a plot and developing it together with him after she had already started having mental disorder. It forced the family to move with speed and go to Nairobi to demolish a building that was under construction at the plot.

According to the Mental Disorder Persons Act, a person is not allowed to enter into any agreement with another suspected to be suffering from mental disorder.

“We had even announced this on the radio so that people do not go ahead signing contracts with Conje, yet he went ahead to take advantage of her,” said Adala.

Conje, 35, is a former world boxing super middleweight champion and a two-time World Boxing Council middleweight title winning the World Boxing Federation, Global Boxing Union and World Boxing International Federation titles.