Pomp and colour as historic Kagumo School turns 90

Kagumo High School, founded in 1933 and among the first schools in the country to allow Africans sit their national examinations, marks its 90-year anniversary next month with a rich history of success and an impressive list of alumni.

The school, which first started as a primary institution in Gatitu with the goal of developing trainable artisans, later moved to its current location in Kiganjo, and has scaled the heights to become a national school in 2012.

In September, Kagumo High will be celebrating its 90th anniversary since it was established at an event expected to bring together hundreds of old boys, ranging from those that left 50 years ago to those who sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations last year.

The Kagumo Old Boys Association, which has been in existence since 1983, is the force behind the celebrations, jointly with the school’s administration led by Principal Silas Mwirigi.

Besides celebrating the milestones in their personal lives, the alumni regularly meet to reconnect, network and mentor students at the school as well as have fun together.

They also consolidate funds to start new infrastructural projects in the school or rehabilitate existing ones as well as contribute towards the education of needy boys from vulnerable homes by paying their school fees.

The alumni have held high offices in government and served the country as Cabinet Secretaries, others are lawyers, doctors, governors, in media, engineering, aviation among other professions.

Some of the big names that schooled in Kagumo High include Treasury Cabinet Secretary (CS) Prof Njuguna Ndung’u and former ministers Mutahi Kagwe and James Macharia, who served in the health and transport dockets respectively, in the Uhuru Kenyatta government.

Others are Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi, Karen Hospital CEO Dan Gikonyo, constitutional lawyer Gibson Kuria, the late Nyeri Governor Wahome Gakuru among others.

Also listed as alumni by the association secretary Andrew Kibe are Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome, Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s personal lawyer Paul Mwangi, Riara Group of Schools and Riara University founder Mr Daniel Gachukia, Dr Gideon Muriuki , who is the Cooperative Bank of Kenya chief executive officer, among many others.

Dr Gikonyo of Karen hospital reminisced on his time at the school with a lot of nostalgia. He was among the first students to join Kagumo High after Kenya gained her independence from the British rule.

Joining form one was fun and there was no bullying. However, the school set up was akin to transitioning to another type of 'colonialism.'

“I was a form one student in 1964, among the first student to join high school after independence. And for us, there was no transition when we joined; it was only in theory because it was like we transited to a new phase of colonialism,” he said.

Of all the teachers that were employed at the school only three were Africans and Kiswahili was not taught as a subject. In fact, he says, it was forbidden to speak Kiswahili.

A majority of the students had come from dusty village primary schools that required them to fetch water and sprinkle on the classroom floor before sweeping. But being in Kagumo was different, the floors were mopped with a rug and the ambience was sophisticated.

“There was one rule that once we stepped outside the school compound we should always turn to the right. This was because to the left was Kirichu village and to the right, Kiganjo which was a small town. You were told to turn right to avoid being contaminated by the village,” Dr Gikonyo recalls.

He went on to explain that two weeks before a form one student reported, the headmaster had grass in the field thrashed and left to lose moisture—this is what would be used as mattresses and pillows.

“When I reported, I was given cloth sacks of different sizes and asked to go to the fields and fill both with the grass. The first few days were uncomfortable but it would soften after a few days,” he said.

Further, given the village life had not offered the students any comfort and they were used to hardships, when they were given bed sheets, they did not know what to do with them.

“We were so confused that we placed the bed sheets on top of the blankets and slept between the blankets. Having bed sheets was new to all of us,” he said, adding that he is always baffled that new students have to carry mattresses while reporting to high school these days.

But of all the memories he has of the school, Dr Gikonyo may never forget the very interesting culinary requirement that the students take githeri using a fork and knife.

Githeri is a popular mixture of maize and beans, sometimes with some potatoes, and a staple in Kenyan boarding schools.

“You had to learn how to balance eating githeri with a fork. Mind you, on the other end of the table there is a prefect watching you… should you fail to balance your meal on the fork, you would be punished by spending the entire day trying. Looking back, it was exciting and fun,” said Dr Gikonyo who also serves as the chairman of the board of trustees for the old boys association.

In the 1960s, the school’s headmaster was Douglas Melheuish is said to have been keen on instilling discipline and commitment into the boys. He was a disciplinarian and for Dr Gikonyo, that played a huge role in shaping his career path.

“The school was neat and orderly, and it was not crowded as we had a population of about 280 boys. The headmaster lived with the boys and knew what they liked. You were either a rioting rebel or a disciplined fellow. I chose the latter,” he said, adding that overcrowding sometimes plays a part in the unrest experienced these days in boarding schools.

“As human beings, we psychologically want to protect our space and therefore react to overcrowding because the quality of life becomes stressful. Schools need to be well managed,” he said.

A fond memory for Dr Gikonyo was when Mr Gibson Kamau Kuria, now a veteran lawyer, shot back at the headmaster one morning for telling the boys to behave well so that they do not go back to the bush.

“He was in form three and it was during assembly when he fired back and told the principal that we cannot go back to the bush because we have never been there. There was pin-drop silence. We were all waiting for our colleague to be punished or expelled but the headmaster instead continued addressing the boys after noticing he had erred,” Dr Gikonyo said.

Mr Kuria would later become one of Kenya’s most prominent lawyers and human right defenders, who was detained during President Daniel Moi’s tenure.

Dr Mwirigi, the current principal at the school, takes pride in the milestone the school has achieved over the last five years since he joined, saying discipline, team work and self-driven students have helped maintain the profile of the school.

“We also receive a lot of support from stakeholders and the old boys who play a big role in mentoring the young boys here and improving infrastructure,” he said.

Further, he noted that with the 100 percent transition directive by the Ministry of Education, the school facilities were shrinking to accommodate the growing number of the students. The population has grown from 1,250 students in 2018 to 2, 345 currently.

At least 401 students will be joining the Kagumo Old Boys Association this year.

Mr Maina Muchara joined the school in 1978. He is now the chairman of the association. He said Kagumo was the best school any boy could have hoped for, and students looked forward to joining it.

“It was the first place I felt exposed to the world and seeing high standards of cleanliness. The subjects included metal and wood work and engagement with foreign teachers was impactful as they helped us think big,” he said.

Mr Muchara added: “The school helped in boosting my confidence while engaging with the outside world as well as in self-development. Up to today, I apply many things that I learnt in Kagumo in my everyday life,” he said.

The association has about 17, 000 students – a population of all students that have passed through the school but there are about 1, 500 active members. They absorb new students annually after they clear their national examinations.

During the 90th celebrations, Mr Muchara said that besides the event, they will be launching the construction of a hall that will not only serve the school but also the community.

“Through the association, we like to encourage and build the gift of giving back to the society and the school that brought you up…schools are developed by their alumnus,” he said.

At Kagumo High, the old boys have installed solar systems to ensure the students are supplied with hot water and refurbished the dormitories.

For a number of years, the school performance had declined, but Mr Muchara expressed confidence that it is going to reclaim its glory and enter the list of the country’s top performing institutions.

Mr Eliud Kibii, an editor at the Star newspaper, joined Kagumo High in 2006. He says the experience there toughened him up and is thrilled that it has lived up to its name as it has continued to produce top brains and industry players and leaders in the country.

“It is not surprising that each sector you go to in Kenya, you will not miss a Kagumo old boy. There was a good balance between class work and extracurricular activities inside and outside school. I am pleased that it has lived up to its name going by the national examination results for the past three years. I had a good experience,” he said.

And as any school going student, there is always room for mischief and leaning on luck not to be caught on the wrong. At Kagumo High, the goal for the students for many years has been to leave the facility with as few strokes of the cane as possible.

Mr Kibe recalls that when a student was caught committing an offence like smoking, they would be handed a jembe and directed to an uncultivated piece of land in the school they called Siberia to cultivate for a week, while for lighter punishments, students were asked to clean the pavements accompanied with caning.

Kibe joined the school 32 years ago.

“There were different canes of different colours – black, blue, red and green. Black was the most serious while green was a warning. We all had a goal to live the school with the least canes,”

“The bell rang while you were seated in classroom not the other way round… and if you were outside when the bell rang, you wouldn’t ever bother entering the class until you receive some caning from the headmaster or teacher on duty,” said Mr Kibe, who is the secretary of the association.

He says the school culture moulded strong characters that serve in different capacities in the society.

“Most people who were at Kagumo High are self-driven, responsible, hardworking and independent; the culture of the school was very supportive of the students’ educational and social well-being, especially with leave-outs. It was great,” he said.

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