MOMBASA, Kenya - Sitting in a Chinese restaurant enjoying some midday refreshment, Andrew Mwangura could have been mistaken for just another middle-aged Kenyan worn out by work.

His black baseball hat, his stripped blue shirt and cream-colored pants, his outdated mobile phone and his soft, deep voice all culminate in a rather mundane appearance that every bit contradicts the uniqueness of the work that he does.

Mwangura, 48, is arguably the most informed individual about what is happening on the Indian Ocean and, more importantly, boasts exclusive contact with both pirates and mariners held hostage near Somali waters.