Samuel Ekiru, who is partially blind, had discovered his passion by listening to a UK football commentary.
The 25-year-old was born in poverty in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Turkana County, one of the country's marginalized and poorest areas.
Ekiru’s partial blindness began in his childhood when was 5 years old as mild pain before it became severe.
”My condition came about as a young child. It started as a pain in my eyes before it developed to what it is now,” Ekiru stated in an interview.
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He had revealed that he was abandoned due to his visual impairment and settled with a well-wisher in Kakuma, in Turkana.
“My original home was in Kalobeyei on your way to Lokichogio. My parents were nomads and pastoralists and they left me due to my condition. I couldn't help them fight in the banditry attacks, so I was abandoned.
I met with a lady (Mary Lomojo) in Kakuma and she helped me go back to school and I would stay with her when the school closed.”
Mary Lomojo was introduced to Samuel Ekiru through her neighbor and decided to take her under her wings.
“I loved and felt connected to Ekiru when I first met him. I also have a child who is blind and unlike Samuel, he is blind,” Lomoho stated.
A laser eye surgeon volunteered his services to diagnose and assess if Ekiru's condition was treatable.
Since Ekiru’s financial condition does not allow him to travel to Nairobi or even afford a specialist, the medic diagnosed him through photographs of his eyes.
“Looking at the photograph we cannot just diagnose completely off the picture but thanks to telemedicine now I can see the one eye has a scar on the corneal blindness," stated the doctor.
"The cornea is the front part of his eye. It can be damaged due to various reasons and keratoconus, which is common on this continent, makes the cornea lose its shape.
The second is trachoma which is common in Turkana, too can cause the rise of scars on the cornea. We can do a corneal transplant by removing the scar and god willing there is no rejection he will be able to see better,” he elaborated.
Ekiru is talented and loves sports. However, with his condition his dream to become Kenya's top football commentator remains a mirage since he cannot watch live action to add voice to it.