A Ugandan-born, London-based runner is making his way from Cape Town to London to tell the story of human migration in Africa.
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He is accompanied by a support crew travelling by car and is currently waiting on the Kenyan side of Moyale, a border town in Ethiopia. He told The Guardian that crossing a country grappling with a two-year civil conflict is ‘the biggest challenge’ he has faced on this route.
‘There is no way of going around Ethiopia, South Sudan is potentially just as dangerous and the same is true for the surrounding countries.’
In addition, his trek also aims to challenge the racist notion that people should ‘go back to where they come from’.
‘I know that Africa is the origins of humanity and if you tell someone that they should go back to where they come from that means we all (…) have to go back to where we come from,’ he says.
‘My overall objective is basically to work towards ending racism.’
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The 36-year-old started his journey on 24 July 2023 from Cape Town’s Long March to Freedom Monument. He wants to highlight the similarities between today’s forced migration and ancient human movements from Africa.
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‘The Khoisan people in South Africa, for example, are moving based on climate,’ he says. ‘They migrate to find a better environment that they can live in. So we’re moving for the same reasons that [anthropologists believe] early humans used to move for.’
He had hoped to finish in 381 days, the same duration as the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. However, setbacks have delayed his progress.
Deo Kato mostly stayed in small lodges during his journey but sometimes had to sleep in the car. In Tanzania, he faced torrential rain and muddy roads, and street food made him sick. His accommodation did not have hot water.
However, he also notes several acts of kindness. He recalls when he ran through the northern South African desert and couldn’t find a place to stay. ‘It was a difficult day, our car had broken down, we were stuck in the sand and had been chased by some farmers who were hostile towards us.’
‘Then we met a farmer who offered us a place to stay. When we got there, they had cooked for us, they had the tea ready. It was close to midnight and they had everything set out, even though they had no place for us to sleep. They said, “Just come, we will figure things out”. We ended up sleeping in the car. But it was the best day so far.’
Running an average of 25 miles (about 40km) each day, Kato opted for the eastern route through Africa to pass through Uganda so that he could visit his father, who lives there.
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Next up after Ethiopia is Sudan, which has the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis.
‘Sudan is in the Sahara,’ he says. ‘That’s quite worrying in terms of getting the necessities that I need like water. And being able to enter Sudan at all, because of the conflict. The borders haven’t been closed but for foreigners to gain entry is a no-go at the moment. The situation could change when we arrive at the Sudan border.’
He adds that logistic and bureaucratic issues along the route highlighted the obstacles that borders pose for those seeking refuge. ‘Today a lot of people are asking for a united Africa without borders.’
‘We have a few countries where there are no visas, for example, Kenya. It would mean better opportunities for everyone and more inclusivity.’
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Picture: @deoruns / Instagram