30-year-old James Irungu from Murang’a has launched an extraordinary 80-hour tree-hugging endurance challenge to spotlight Kenya’s growing cancer burden and urge the government to step up interventions.
Irungu began the unusual campaign at 9 pm on Sunday in the heart of Murang’a town and aims to remain hugging the tree continuously until Thursday 5 am. By Monday afternoon, he had already completed 12 hours of the grueling challenge, with supporters arriving periodically to cheer him on as the clock ticked on.
Irungu said the rising number of cancer cases in the country and the severe financial toll the disease imposes on Kenyan families motivated his initiative.
“I am doing this to show people that this is a very dangerous disease,” he said.
“Many families have been impoverished by cancer. Some have sold land, others have taken loans, and still, lives are being lost.”
He lamented that many patients must travel abroad for specialized treatment, often at prohibitive costs.
“We do not have a hospital here in Kenya that can cure cancer. People have to go to India,” he said, adding that such journeys are out of reach for most ordinary Kenyans.
Speaking to the press after starting the challenge, Irungu urged the government to declare cancer a national disaster, drawing parallels to public awareness efforts during the peak of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
“When HIV came, we used to see posters everywhere in public places warning people and asking them if they had been tested,” he said.
“We want the same for cancer, messages everywhere telling people to go for screening.”
Cancer has claimed several of Irungu’s relatives, a personal tragedy that strengthened his resolve to speak out. He believes that stronger public education, early screening, and investment in local treatment facilities could dramatically reduce deaths.
“I feel the government response is still inadequate compared to the scale of the problem,” he added.
The tree-hugging challenge follows a similar attempt by Truphena Muthoni from Nyeri, who holds the record for the longest tree-hugging marathon at 48 hours. Her recent 72-hour attempt still awaiting Guinness World Records ratification.
Irungu hopes to surpass those milestones, but more importantly, he wants to spark a national conversation on cancer prevention and care.
“If this makes even one person go for screening or pushes leaders to act, then the pain and discomfort will be worth it,” he said.
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