‘They called me Semenya’: Ziya Africa details agony of being mocked for his feminine features as a child
Content creator and comedian Ziya Africa, previously known as Mike Muchiri, has opened up about a painful chapter of his teenage years, revealing how he was mocked and isolated for having feminine features while growing up.
In a personal statement shared on Thursday, January 29, 2026, Ziya narrated how, between the ages of 10 and 13, he was often mistaken for a girl whenever his mother had visitors over.
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“My teenage years were the worst. I was such a feminine boy,” he said.
He recalled moments when guests would compliment his looks, thinking he was his mother’s daughter, before his mum corrected them.
“Whenever my mum had visitors over, they’d say, ‘You have such a beautiful daughter,’” he wrote.
Ziya also credited his mother for influencing his popular skits, saying she shaped much of the humour he later became known for.
“My mum is funny as hell,” he stated.
Ziya said the hardest moment came when he was 14, right after completing KCPE, when he attended a boys’ camp linked to circumcision and training into adulthood.
He said the camp, called Transition into Adulthood Camp by Nyamachaki PCEA, Nyeri, had over 500 boys and was run by older men. He described the programme as strict, with the first days focused on circumcision, followed by sessions on how to become a real man.
According to Ziya, things changed after a reverend spoke about men who behave like women, calling them not real men and warning boys to avoid them. That speech, he says, turned him into a target almost instantly.
“I became so conspicuous. The stares started. Then the mockery. Nicknames. I remember ‘Semenya,’” he wrote.
He said he struggled to cope with the emotional weight of being singled out and shamed at such a young age, adding that he did not understand why he was being treated that way.
“I couldn’t understand why I was being punished for something I had no control over,” he stated.
The creator said he spent most of his time hiding, avoiding other boys and trying not to be noticed, because he was terrified of being seen and judged.
“I just wanted to disappear,” he wrote.
On the way home, Ziya said he broke down in tears while seated next to his mother inside his cousin’s matatu. His cousin, thinking it was the pain from the circumcision, tried to comfort him.
“Inakuwaga uchungu, Maiko,” his cousin said.
However, Ziya believes his mother knew it was deeper than physical pain, recalling how she kept asking him what was wrong before pulling his head onto her lap.
After reaching home, Ziya said he wanted to explain what happened, but could not find the words, so he wrote his mother a letter instead. He said she read it and went silent before responding with words that stayed with him.
“Ririkana, you are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God,” she told him.
Ziya said that moment marked the start of his understanding of himself, as he began learning how to carry his feelings and process emotions he did not even have the words for at the time.
“One thing I’ve always wondered about myself is how deeply I feel,” he added.
