Fredrick Warui: Kenyan Man Captured ‘Rescuing’ Ugali Speaks

A man who was captured carrying a big piece of ugali and whose photo went viral on social media has been identified.

Fredrick Warui was seen ‘rescuing’ ugali as county government of Nairobi demolished illegal structures in Kilimani area on Thursday.

His decision to carry the popular Kenyan meal on his shoulder puzzled online users especially when there were more valuable items that could have been salvaged from the structures.

A local television station traced the man to his base near Yaya Centre where he lives with other street families. Warui said he saw the ugali during the demolition exercise and thought it was wise to carry it for his friends who have spend some days without food.

“Tulikuwa tunaenda kuokoa hii ugali tusaidiane na bahati mbaya na mzuri tukapata jamaa wetu ameaga,” he told K24 TV in reference to one of them, Anthony Kimani who succumbed to hunger.

“Sisi bado tuko njaa so nikaona nibebe hio ugali na niliona hawa wengine wako na njaa nikaona nibebe ugali na omena,” he said.

Warui, a former prisoner at Kamiti Maximum Prison said he ended up in the streets after finding out that his wife had remarried when he was in jail.

“Nilikuta ameolewa na mtu mwingine amezaa watoto wengine. Singeweza kukaa na yeye sasa juu amezaa watoto wengine. Ndio mtoto ni wangu, lakini hao wengine singeweza kukaa na wao,” he explained.