CAIRO: A homeless Sudanese writer and painter, Mohammed Hussein Bahnass, who lived on the streets of Cairo, has died from cold in the Egyptian capital, colleagues and local media reported yesterday.
Bahnass had moved to Cairo two years ago to exhibit his works.
But he quickly ran out of money and had to abandon his home “and sleep on the streets of downtown Cairo”, said Imane Adel, a journalist working with independent Egyptian daily Al Youm Al Sabea.
He was a regular figure in downtown Cairo, seen even on Tahrir Square — the epicentre of protests against longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.
The 43-year-old was found dead of cold on a Cairo street but it was unclear when he died.
A fierce winter storm shut down much of the Middle East in the last few days, with Egypt recording unusual low temperatures, rainfall and also snowfall in some areas.
Ahmad Bahgat, an activist who participated in the anti-Mubarak revolt, had befriended Bahnass and realised that he was a capable artist.
Bahnass was “homeless”, Bahgat said in a message posted on the Internet.
AFP
