One-legged King walks across SA straight into people’s hearts

King Nipho received a hero’s welcome from members of the Association for the Physically Disabled, SPAR Eastern Cape and SUPERSPAR Mount Pleasant on Friday.

Krugersdorp’s King Nipho is living proof that no affliction can triumph over the human spirt.

Since May 27, the 37-year-old amputee has been walking across the country to encourage support for people living with disabilities and promote unity and Ubuntu among citizens.

His 5 000km epic, billed the #OneLegWalk, has already taken him from Pretoria to Cape Town and he is now on the final stretch to Durban.

He reached the halfway point of his journey in Gqeberha on Friday (August 21), where members of the Association for the Physically Disabled (APD) in Nelson Mandela Bay came out in force to cheer him on.

Nipho might have covered in excess of 2 000km but he showed no signs of fatigue as he chanted, “We’re making history”, and, “One-leg walk”, while blowing a vuvuzela through the suburban streets of Mount Pleasant.

“My main mandate is to do something to include people living with disabilities, but there has also been disorder in our communities.

“When you see this, you must do something. You can’t just sit and look on,” he said.

“I said to myself, ‘Let me do something positive to unite the community’, instead of promoting hate’.”

Nipho’s endeavour is entirely self-funded and in the past three months he has spent many a night sleeping at petrol stations before hitting the road again the next morning.

However, in recent weeks more people have opened their hearts and homes to him after learning about his quest through social media.

“I’ve been able to partner with B&Bs. They say, ‘Come, let us house you. You are doing a good thing’.”

APD only learnt of Nipho’s great trek yesterday but moved quickly to ensure he received the Friendly City welcome he deserved.

The organisation’s chairperson Garth van Niekerk said it was like the ultra-walker “fell out of the sky”.

“Somebody contacted APD and asked if we knew about King walking on this route. We didn’t,” he admitted.

However, director Cecilia Fourie wasted no time in making sure they did from that point onward.

Van Niekerk, himself, hosted Nipho at his home last night and will do so again this evening.

“It’s an absolutely special thing to happen, both for him and for APD.”

APD also called on long-time corporate sponsor SPAR Eastern Cape to see if the family retailer could help in any way.

For the past 14 years the two organisations have partnered on the annual Wheelchair Wednesday campaign, where funds are raised to provide wheelchairs to beneficiaries in underprivileged communities.

Van Niekerk said the faces of the APD “welcoming committee” told the story of how inspired they had been by Nipho’s journey.

SPAR EC sponsorship controller Honey Koba said his arrival in the Metro could not have come at a better time as both the Women’s Challenge and Wheelchair Wednesday were taking place in September.

“The stars have definitely aligned, especially if you consider that for the first time APD will be producing the T-shirts, scrunchies and goodie bags for this year’s Challenge,” she said.

Nipho was given the chance to stock up on goods from SPAR’s Mount Pleasant store.

He was also gifted a virtual shopping voucher that will enable him to buy goods from any SPAR outlet he encounters as he rambles on towards his final destination.