'I've been sexually abused so many times, I went mad,' Transgender model Letoya Johnstone opens up

Piece by: Peninah Njoki
Lifestyle

Kenyan model Letoya Johnstone has talked about the struggles she has gone through among them having jobs taken away from her.

She has also been mistreated and undermined something that left her feeling deeply humiliated.

In a long but touching post she pens,

'I have been to spaces where people who have power have closed the doors in my face.

I have been alone fighting for myself. My money has been reversed by a top organization. I have had a conversation where I explain why I act as I do.

I have called numbers that couldn't pick up my calls but I pick up their own. I have thrived in spaces I am not needed or wanted. !

My hair may look admirable but it is not my own. I have been called a homosexual by a fellow well respectable transgender person.

I have been discussed at a round table, jobs have been taken away from me.

I have ever asked for my money from a wealthy celebrity and I was told that the food I ate while around them was what was deducted from my pay.!

I have been raped so many times until I went mad.

A Muslim Doctor in Homa-Bay refused to treat me because of my gender and sexual orientation.

I have been asked by some wealthy family members to drop my surname because it is a shame. I lost my identity, my dignity, my value as a human being, and my title as a child of God.

I came to learn that organizations are run by human beings who get advice from other members.

Letoya added that instead of people picking up her calls and listening to what she has to say, most have given her name tags.

It is 2021 March and, I still call to explain myself but people chose whether to pick up my calls or to avoid me. They have given me a new name, " TOO DRAMATIC."

You are always good when you are voiceless, targeted when you are never listened to.

I went to a gay organization where my book "Crazy Rich Asians" was stolen. I begged whoever took it at that Gay organization and they never gave it to me. Why?

Because they expect my anger to boil so that I act and they use it against me. I was invited for a transgender interview. I just never knew it was a trap.

Letoya adds that she has realized that she is enough for herself and does not need to rely on people to feel 'complete'.

'From today henceforth, I have given up hope on any LGBTQI+ Organization in Kenya.

I will move on as an individual and live a life before I ever met any of them. Enough is enough.

I am tired of being used as a statistical parabolic situation.

I am done. I don't want to associate with any LGBTQ+ Organization. I am me. I want to be free.

I want to feel again. It's been toxic enough. Time to start a new chapter and move on.

Thank you for the little opportunities I got. Bye !'

Someone's sexual orientation should not be a reason to discriminate and mistreat them.