6-year-old Tanzanian is youngest to climb Africa's second highest mountain
Out of 5,199 metres of Africa’s second-highest mountain, six-year-old Mohammad Taibjee climbed up to 4,000 metres plus.
History will have him recorded as the youngest person so far to have attained the feat of climbing Africa’s Mount Kenya, the second highest on the continent after Mount Kilimanjaro located in Tanzania.
Mohammad, a Tanzanian citizen, did this with the guidance of his uncle, Muffaddal Tayebji, who had previously climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in 2020 and Mount Meru (the sacred five-peaked mountain of Hinju, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology).
Muffaddal’s previous adventure kindled an interest in his nephew Mohammad after the two sat to review previous photos of the former’s adventure.
They put in a lot of work, including frequent jogging to ensure their bodies were fit for the task of climbing, cycling up and down a steep harbour hill, and climbing steep stairs at a swimming club in Tanga (a port city in northeast Tanzania), as part of preparations for the arduous task.
From Nairobi to Chogoria town in Meru County, the duo began their journey moving through scenic landscapes, taking gentle hikes and steep ascents through to Mt. Kenya forest. Along the way, although his uncle Mufaddal would get tired, Mohammad’s charisma and willpower urged him on.
After crossing the 4,000-metre mark, however, the six-year-old began to slow down due to altitude sickness caused by ascending too rapidly. “He began vomiting and fortunately, I had with me precautionary emergency medications," said his uncle.
"The boy felt better, and after a short while, we kept trudging up the mountain. At around 2 pm, we arrived at a picnic spot where we had lunch and kept on trekking. An hour and a half later, we were at Mintos Camp. His condition had become worse, but he still wanted to ascend the mountain despite his condition,” his uncle Mufaddal narrated to the local Tanzanian news portal, The Citizen. Both uncle and nephew, however, moved a few more metres and retired their climb.
This is not only a big feat for Mohammad but also the fact that he is the youngest person after Elsie Akeyo who successfully climbed Mount Kenya in December 2020, his uncle explained.
“I opted to climb Mt. Kenya with my nephew not only because I understood it would be a unique experience for him but also because it was among the top five mountains I planned to climb,” Mufaddal told The Citizen.
