Boxing champion Conjestina Achieng'. [Photo|citizentv.co.ke]
She lifted Kenya’s flag high during her heydays in the boxing world but her star unexpectedly dimmed when she quit the professional fighting ring following a mental illness.
Conjestina Achieng’, 40, was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder/paranoid schizophrenia and was admitted at the Mathari Hospital in 2012, after drifting into a psychotic episode.
But of late, the daughter of Siaya County has been absent in the public limelight for obvious reasons.
A video recently shot shows the former boxing champ making tearful remarks outside her semi-permanent house back in her parent’s rural home neighbouring Lake Victoria.
“Hii ni pro sasa penye unapigana bila head gear. Kichwa iko tu wazi unakata ndaa…hapa hivi ikipatikana (pointing at her jaw) unasahau na Mungu,” she says.
Loosely translated: “This one is a pro (professional) now, you fight without head gear. The head is exposed and you hit…if this part is targeted (points at her jaw) you forget God’s…”
In the video, her mother is heard giving an account of what has been going on in the life of the fighter who participated in 27 fights, winning 17, losing four and drawing in six.
The emotional clip also narrates how Conje, as she was popularly known has destroyed the belts she won during her prime days in the boxing ring.
Her mother also pleads with the government to intervene and help Conjestina instead of neglecting her.