Kenya’s Birdman is internet hit but worries health officials @ScrollIn
Kenya’s Birdman is internet hit but worries health officials  @ScrollIn
Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
A formerly homeless man in Nairobi has become a viral sensation after years of rescuing and living with injured birds.

Rodgers Oloo Magutha found purpose and an escape from the depression of living on the streets by caring for his avian friends.

By 2024, he was living in central Nairobi when massive protests erupted all around him, and images of Magutha walking calmly through the unrest with a kite on his head made him an internet sensation.

He now has a one-room home on the outskirts of the city, as well as tens of thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram who watch him living alongside kites, crows, storks and many other birds.

Credit: Collins Olunga/ AFP

Subscribe to Scroll's YouTube channel and turn on your notifications, so you don't miss new videos.

For more explainers, and the web’s most interesting videos - scroll.in/video

For the latest news and analysis - scroll.in

Support our award-winning journalism by becoming a Scroll member - scroll.in/contribute

Follow Scroll.in here -
Facebook: facebook.com/scroll.in
Twitter: twitter.com/scroll_in
Instagram: instagram.com/scroll_in
Threads: threads.net/@scroll_in
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/scroll.in
Kenya’s Birdman is internet hit but worries health officialsCancer treatments increasingly used on pet animalsChristopher Nolan, Matt Damon & Tom Holland at The Odyssey India premiereEp. 408 of The Sunday #NYTReadalong (Dolly Parton; Metas Settlement; The March on Washington)“The workers and activists must be released.” | Ground ReportI was waiting for a movement like this. | Cockroach Janta Party Protest Ground ReportPolice beat and chase protesting students at Delhis iconic Connaught PlaceIts time for Modi to go, his resignation is neededPanic at Philippine elementary school as earthquake hitsA place of our own | Inside Ranchis Andhra Basti | On The GroundEco India: Can Delhi save its forests without destroying what makes them valuable?Chetan Bhagat was very earnest | Mohammed Hanif | Scroll Adda
Scroll.in |

Kenya’s 'Birdman' is internet hit but worries health officials

SHARE TO X SHARE TO REDDIT SHARE TO FACEBOOK WALLPAPER