Wheelchair hero's 2,485-mile journey for Kenya's first spinal injury rehab unit

A Kenyan man who was paralysed after being shot by carjackers nine years ago has caught the imagination of the nation by embarking on a 2,485-mile journey to South Africa on a manual wheelchair to seek treatment for his spinal injuries. Zachary Kimotho, a 44-year-old veterinarian, began the journey in June with the aim of raising £1.9m to build a spinal injury treatment unit in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

On the first phase of his journey, Kimotho raised £650,000 and covered 78 miles of the route to South Africa, where the nearest spinal cord injury rehabilitation centre is. In a telephone interview on Friday with the Observer, Kimotho, who was near the border of Tanzania and Kenya, said he had continued despite cold and wet weather and he had blisters on his hands from turning the wheels. Read more: www.guardian.co.uk