Poet, performer, para athlete
Jay PoeTree
Jairus Ong'eta · Mr Albinism Kenya
He found poetry in class five, in school drama and music festivals, and then went looking for the parts of it nobody was teaching. He says it plainly: he has always found it hard to say things out loud, and poetry is the form that lets him. There are things he can only say in a poem.
In February 2025 he became the first person with albinism to represent Kenya on the global stage in para athletics, taking gold in the men's 100m and 400m at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai. He won silver and bronze in bench press and powerlifting at the IBSA championships in Almaty, and he is competing at the World Para Athletics Championships next year in a bid to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The Government of Kenya has since recognised him with a Shujaa commendation.
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Asked whether he would trade albinism for melanin, he says no. Growing up, people were surprised when he did well, as though the condition were the ceiling. Without albinism he would not have been Mr Albinism Kenya and would not have raised what he has raised through his work. The one thing he would change is the sunburn, and his eyesight.
On whether poetry pays, he is equally direct. It can, through corporate work, but the industry in Kenya moves slowly and treats poets as an opening act, which teaches audiences that poetry is not serious. Earning from it, he says, takes building a personal brand and then making that brand yield.
