A US-based gay Nigerian man, Emmanuel Onwe, has recalled his feeling of helplessness and shame after a traumatizing ‘Kito’ experience.
Kito is an internet slang that explains how homophobic individuals pretend to be gay on social media and dating apps in order to lure actual members of the LGBT community with the aim of blackmailing the victims into extortion, have them outed or physically harmed.
Onwe shared his story on Thursday, September 4, after a follower expressed appreciation to him for a cash gift.
“In 2019, I was kitoed – stripped of everything I had. I remember the helplessness, the shame, the weight of starting from zero. And yet, in that darkness, someone showed me kindness and bought me a new phone,” he wrote.
“That simple act restored my hope. Today, I feel nothing but gratitude to the Universe for giving me the chance to pay that kindness forward. It reminds me of the power of Ubuntu—I am because you are. Without community, without each other, we have nothing.”
