Joachim Mwangi, famously known as Katuosis The Trucker, is a Kenyan based in the United States. Speaking on Lynn Ngugi’s show, he explained his story and the challenges he went through as a result of being born a dwarf.
Here is his inspiring story as told by WoK.
Joachim Mwangi Background
Born at a time when one needed to touch their ear to proceed to the next class, his short stature could not allow him to do just that.
He had to convince his teacher that despite being short he was not a young kid. At the time, he just thought he was short and would grow taller as the years progressed.
However, as his friends grew taller, he remained short. His mother took him to doctors trying to find out what was wrong with him. The doctors did tests and determined that he was normal; it was just his stature.
Joachim Mwangi High School
After primary school, he proceeded to high school. On his first day, the whole school gathered in their class to gaze at him instead of going for ‘break’.
This prompted the principal to call for an assembly and told everyone to treat him with respect since he was one of them. While he took part in drama, he could not take part in sports, like basketball and football. He explained how he would get girlfriends but they would be taken by his taller peers .
Joachim Career
After high school, he was not able to further his education. He was raised by a single mother and his sister who had dropped out of school to get married wanted to continue with her studies.
Their mother could not afford to pay school fees for both of them. He was okay with his sister getting an education and told his mother he would be fine.
She got him a donkey and he began ferrying goods in the village, most of the time earning Ksh500 daily. Leveraging on his love for acting, he also teamed up with friends and went to entertain kids in school.
They charged them Ksh5 per child and would occasionally be invited to entertain guests in weddings across the village.
An uncle of his took him to Nairobi where he began acting for an organization that created awareness about different conditions.
Later, he teamed up with others to start another organization where he took the role of the president of Short stature society of Kenya. During this time, he had undertaken short courses and even met the mother of his daughter. Later, he went to the United States for a dwarf function.
While there, he decided he wanted to live in that country because of the opportunities. He came back home since his daughter was still a few months old but the dream stayed with him.
An acquaintance he had made in the US promised to host him if he ever went back and another had promised him the plane ticket.
Joachim got everything in order and flew back. His mother would later stay with his daughter Rahab as her mother returned to her country, Tanzania. They co-parent and she visits their daughter from time to time.
Joachim Life in the US
While waiting for his documents, he worked as a dish washer, earning USD8 an hour. He worked for 40 hours per week making USD320 (48,000) at current rate. This was not enough for him to meet his daily needs as rent was around USD1,500.
He learnt how to drive and started doing food deliveries and later on took a job as an Uber driver. He loved the job as he got to interact with different kinds of people from all over the world. This is when he decided to be a trucker.
When he went to a driving school, they thought it impossible for him to become a trucker. They asked him to get a physical from the doctor first to make sure everything was okay. Eventually, he began training and worked with an instructor. He failed three times before passing and being awarded his commercial license.
He then joined a company, was given his new truck and became a trucker. The company has been very good to him even covering his story.
He also has a Tik Tok account where most know him as Katuosis The Trucker. He says a lot of people take photos of him or stare but he does not care. He only realizes his shortness when people mention it.
