After suffering from
anal cancer for some years, South African gay singer and socialite, Koyo Bala, has died,
as announced by his family and friends on Twitter.
37-year-old Bala, who was a member of the popular group, 3Sum, was also HIV positive. He had undergone surgery, chemotherapy and
radiation in the past years.
Bala gave up the ghost on March 7, 2016, after battling
cancer for two years at Groote Schuur
hospital in Cape Town, according to his long-time friend Ephraim “Ephymol” Molingoana, who
confirmed the news to his fans.
“His condition had
deteriorated. He couldn’t even walk; he had to use a wheelchair.”
Koyo, who disclosed his HIV status in 2012, had been living
with the pains of the cancer for years and, according to close associates, had
battled long and had trusted that God could heal him.
He once told a magazine that he was stronger that his HIV.
“HIV won’t be the end
of me ... I am HIV-positive and as a celebrity and someone who is openly gay it
is important to come out.
I want to use my
bubbly personality to help those struggling to come to terms with their status
and instil a sense of hope.”
A month before he died, precisely on February 13, 2016, Bala
had tweeted:
“I pray to God
every day to pass this cancer. It’s hard, it pains, I’ll win this battle, I
won’t give up. I can’t sleep of pain.”
He also quoted copiously from the Bible in other tweets.
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