Right there, before their very eyes, a 26 year old man concealed the fact of his gender, masquerading as a woman.
Shieys Chepkosgei is the name that he had been using, fraudulently identifying as a female.
What is a surprise is the fact of Chepkosgei’s alleged gender identity came to light, being revealed as a man.
The journey of hiding in plain sight has seemingly come to an end following a series of bizarre events.
Reportedly, the man was nabbed when impersonating as an intern at the Moi Hospital, Eldoret. Despite having a badge pass, his name could not be found on the list of nurses on internship. It is then that he was arrested.
Having been ordered to be remanded at Eldoret’s women prison, the fact of his true gender identity came out. Rather than being a woman, he was a man.
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At the same time however, Shieys Chepkosgei — who had appeared in court under the male name Hillary Kiprotich — was using official documents in his female name.
A Kenyan national ID card, as well as a Kenyan passport belonging to Kiprotich bear the name Shieys Chepkosgei.
The name is associated with that of an athlete who won a marathon in Zambia, but is currently serving a suspension for doping.
Reportedly, Kiprotich told a court that he is more comfortable being around women.
The whole saga may raise questions as to the potential case of fraud by gender identity, as well as usher in a discussion of trangenderism.
Transgender is when a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex.
It jogs the memory to the case of Audrey Mbugua, a transgender rights activist who in 2014 won a case against the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) to have the name on exam certificates changed.
In Audrey’s case however, the activist had already undertaken a sex change, altering her birth name of Andrew.
In the case of Kiprotich however, the fact that his identity has clearly been revealed with him also saying that he is actually a man. It isn’t one of sex change, but leans more towards gender identity fraud.
It does however causes one to ponder how convincing impersonating a female was to pull off.
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