The real Neema Bosibori has spoken up

Twenty-year-old Neema Bosibori was a victim of body-shaming while growing up in Kisii County, she says.

Ironically, Bosibori, a Third-Year Bachelor of Commerce student at the Management University of Africa (MUA), is now widely known as the popular Twitter user who body-shamed musician Stivo Simple Boy in December 2019; the same body-shaming she was subjected to while maturating.

Her experience with bullies, she says, began when she was in primary school in Kisii County, where a section of her schoolmates would ridicule her for being “extremely dark-skinned”.

“I was born and bred in Kisii. I attended different schools within the Nyanza county. While schooling, some of my schoolmates made fun of my skin complexion, and laughed at how tiny I was. Sadly, some of my teachers formed the bully-gang that tormented me. As a result, I grew up shy and withdrawn,” Bosibori told K24 Digital on Thursday, January 16.

Knowing too well the consequences of bullying on a victim’s well-being, then why did she mock Stivo Simple Boy on December 6, 2019?

“I was only joking, and did not know that my remarks would attract such attention,” she says.

“On Twitter, people engage in banters. However, sometimes the jokes go too far – knowingly or unknowingly. If my remarks on Twitter offended any user, I am humbly sorry,” said Bosibori.

According to her, one of the biggest lessons she has learnt in life thus far is that words are very powerful, saying: “they can heal, destroy, hinder, hurt, harm, humiliate or humble someone”.

“In whatever one says, particularly, in relation to what no human has control over such as skin complexion, race etc, they should be mindful of their intended victim’s feelings. A section of the society has made it look like being black is unacceptable. It is somehow a tall order for a Kenyan of colour to embrace a fellow black person,” she said.