Following a three-year battle with cancer of the anus‚ musician Koyo Bala died yesterday at about 9am at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, surrounded by his three sisters.
The 36-year-old singer was part of gay pop trio 3Sum, made up of Bala‚ Amstel Maboa and the late Jeff Moyo, who died in 2010‚ reportedly from HIV/Aids-related complications . They were known in the entertainment industry as activists for gay rights.
In 2011‚ Bala disclosed publicly that he was HIV-positive, a decision he told the Sunday Times in 2014 had cost him work.
In 2014 he was diagnosed with anal cancer and last year he decided to move back home, where he started chemotherapy – a journey he widely shared with his social media followers in images‚ videos and messages.
His last tweet about his illness was on February and it reads: “I pray 2 God everyday 2 help me pass this cancer #itshard #pains #wontgiveup #canwinthisbattle #cantsleepofpains”.