Former Street Urchin Whose Story Went Viral After being Rescued by Former Classmate Passes Away

Patrick Hinga, the former street urchin whose story hit local and international media headlines in 2017 after his former primary school classmate and childhood friend helped him to rehab, has passed away.

The news about his demise has been broken by Wanja Mwaura, the heroine who spotted him on the streets and took him to rehab.

“With deep sorrow, I want to inform you that Hinga has rested. He passed on this morning. I don’t have the strength to say much right now. R.I.P my friend," says Wanja in a Facebook post.

His death comes a few months after Wanja reported that he had relapsed and had been seen at Wangige Market.

Ms. Wanja has not revealed the cause of Hinga's death.

After Wanja picked him from the streets in October 2017, Hinga was admitted to a Nairobi drug rehabilitation center for eight months, and was discharged from the facility in May 2018.

Pictures of Hinga, a then-drug addict, and Ms. Mwaura, a nurse, went viral on social media. Kenyans were moved by Wanja's compassion.

“It all began with cigarettes. Before we knew it, we were smoking bhang. I gave in to drugs because of peer pressure,” Hinga said in a past interview.

Wanja was closely involved in his transformation and often shared on social media photos showing Hinga's progress.