‘He’s not taller than me’ – Ethiopian wants tallest African record held by Ghanaian man

An Ethiopian man is disputing a BBC report that credits a Ghanaian, Sulemana Abdul Samed, alias Awuche; as the world’s tallest man.

Negewo Jima is contending that he is taller than Sulemana, a claim he first made via a Facebook post on January 3, 2022. In the said post, he juxtapose his picture alongside that of Sulemana with a caption, “never give up.”

“Bring him if you want – this guy will not be taller than me,” he had said in an earlier post.

“From what I see on the pictures, I can say he’s not taller than me,” Mr Negewo later told the BBC.

The initial BBC report quoted the height of Sulemana as 7ft 4in which is below the 7ft 4.6in (225cm) of ‘contender’ Negewo, who is undisputably Ethiopia’s tallest man.

World’s tallest man is Turkish

According to the globally-acclaimed Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest man alive record is held by Turkish man Sultan Kösen who in 2009 became the first man over 8 ft to be measured by Guinness World Records for more than 20 years.

In fact, Guinness World Records only knows of ten confirmed or reliable cases in history reaching 8 ft or more.

The part-time farmer from Turkey was found to be a towering 246.5 cm (8 ft 1 in) in height and he took the iconic title of Tallest living man.

Two years later, the 26-year-old was measured again in Ankara, Turkey, by which time he had grown to a staggering 251 cm (8 ft 2.8 in).