Kali is the son of Mamba, a tribal chief of Wa-Hima, who later became the tribal chief and civilized his people.[2] At first, he was kidnapped and sold through many places in Africa, until he meets a Polish boy, Staś Tarkowski, and an English girl named Nell Rawlinson, who are caught up in the rise of the Mahdist War in Sudan by the Arabs. Kali falls into the hands of Gebhr, one of the kidnappers of Staś and Nell, who treats Kali brutally as a slave. After Staś' liberation, the children end up travelling through the desert accompanied by two black people, Kali and a girl named Mea. They encounter a number of wonders and perils, from living in the forest to the war in Kali's homeland. During these adventures, Kali is described as "brave, creative and honourable", and later he becomes "a fair and successful leader of his people", through civilizing and Christianizing tribes around the Lake Rudolf region.[2]
