A Sudanese Writer and Painter on Cairo's Streets

Mohammed Hussein Bahnass was a Sudanese writer and painter, aged 43 when he died. Friends described him as a talented artist, and he had held a successful exhibition in France.

Around 2011, about two years before AFP reported his death in December 2013, he moved to Cairo to show his work. His money ran out there, and he lost his home. He then slept on the streets of downtown Cairo, where he became a familiar presence, including in Tahrir Square.

Ahmad Bahgat, an activist who befriended him, spoke about him as an artist with real talent. Bahnass also painted graffiti in central Cairo, where murals have appeared across the walls since the 2011 uprising.

He was found dead of cold on a Cairo street. A severe winter storm had recently struck the Middle East, bringing unusually low temperatures, rain and snow to parts of Egypt. The AFP report, carried by Ahram Online, does not say on which day he died.