Elias Muthomi Gitonga made headlines in 2022 when he was selected one of the recipients of the Global Child Prodigy Awards, which were hosted in Dubai. The six-year-old Kenyan was honored in the category of “Intelligence” for his exceptional knowledge of the aviation business at such a young age.
His Highness Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nayyan, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth, and Social Development, presented him with the prize at a ceremony in October 2022 at the Mariot Hotel, Aljadaff, Dubai.
Elias began displaying mind-boggling mental powers at the age of one, reading things that no one had ever taught him. He loved and understood helicopters at the age of four, and he could readily name and remember different parts of a helicopter.
“We noticed this gift when he was a year and six months old. He could read things on TV and also the words written in the newspapers. He then started showing great interest in planes and helicopters,” his father, Moses Kitonga, said in an interview with Inooro Tv.
His interest in aviation piqued the interest of the Kenyan military, which invited him to its Eastleigh military airport in 2019 to learn more about helicopters.
Tuko News Kenya said that a private air company in Nanyuki recently given the brilliant boy the opportunity to interact with its jets. The super-talented child outperforms expectations in academics and was promoted from Kindergarten to Grade One at the age of four.
“His brain can handle things above his age. He is a four-year-old child who should be doing PP1 things but we took him to Grade One after engaging him because we realized PP1 was too low for him,” Ken Kugor, a teacher at Beadom Primary School, said a few years ago.
His parents are optimistic that the child’s special talent will be cultivated and that he would one day realize his dream of becoming a pilot.