By Charles Ouko

Nairobi, Kenya: President-elect Uhuru Kenyatta joined Standard Three in St Mary’s School, Nairobi, at the fairly young age of seven years.

Under the education system at the time, one had to be between fi ve and six years to join Standard One, but like other boys slated to join St Mary’s School, Uhuru completed his foundational classes of kindergarten and Standards One and Two, at Loreto Convent, Valley Road.

I can only posit, that since the boys would thereafter, have an unbroken 11-year stint at ‘Saints’ (the school’s nickname), without company of girls, this was perhaps the Catholic orders way of orienting the boys with their sisters before separating them all the way from Standard Three to Form 6! As such ‘Saints’ did not itself have Standard One or Two until, sometimes in the mid-1970s.

I will restrict myself to his time in secondary and high school, as that is when a person’s character is formed.

Anybody who knows anything about early Catholic education in Kenya would concur when I state that its hallmark was an unbending fidelity to discipline, character formation and academic competence.

The Kenyattas (Uhuru was later joined in Saints by his siblings Muhoho and Nyokabi) enjoyed no special privileges by virtue of being the President’s children.

Rugby-playing

Everybody arrived in school well before the commencement time of 7:45am. We all attended morning assembly as well as services at St Austin’s Chapel in the school compound, morning assembly and queued up to the same lunch in the dining hall.

At the time, the teachers at Saints were mainly white and Catholic Fathers and Brothers. Coupled with the fact that tribalism was virtually unheard of back then, everything was premised on meritocracy.

A headmaster oversaw the primary section at Saints, with the principal in charge of the entire school. A priest, Father Ellis, nicknamed ‘Dragash’, was Uhuru’s first principal, but by the time Kenya’s fourth President graduated with his London GCE A-Levels in 1979, the principal was a rugby-playing priest known as Father Malone.

The Dean of students was Father Cox. Uhuru and his siblings were always brought to school in various classic Mercedes Benz cars, all with civilian plates chauffeured by either of their trusted drivers, Gitogo and Ng’ang’a, large and genial men, whom I believe were also police officers.

There were certainly not accompanied to school by chase cars, nor were doors opened for them or their bags carried to class!

Once they were dropped off at whichever of the school’s parking lots they elected to use, they, in a manner of speaking ceased being President Jomo Kenyatta’s children and became part of the Saints fraternity.

Ransom demands

Being on a plus 100-acre site, Saints was a fairly secure facility with a small population and efficient public services back then. The Kenyattas would not have required extra security and if they had requested it, the Catholic order in charge would probably have laughed it off.

Known for his frugal lifestyle, I suspect that had some thoughtless chap succeeded in say kidnapping Uhuru from school, old Jomo would have been unlikely to give in to their ransom demands and the kidnappers would probably have had to return him empty-handed.

I do not recall Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s First President, ever coming to Saints to check on his children’s academic progress, but Mama Ngina Kenyatta was a regular visitor to the principal’s office during the school’s prize giving days.

Saints was truly international in its composition and during its best years resembled a mini-United Nations with students from all continents.

Two things bound us at Saints. One was our ground-floor tuck shop or school canteen, which was a kind of melting pot of all races and nationalities. Stuffed with quality confectionery, the hottest item of the day was always hotdogs and Coca-Cola. Going like for a shilling each at the time. Uhuru was a common feature at the tuck shop during break and after formal lunch in the dining hall.

I recall Frank “fat Frankie” Gachago, Muhoho’s classmate, once calling out to Uhuru saying, to him; “Hey give me bite.” Uhuru obliged, while Frankie waited patiently in the long queue to buy his own.

This kind of banter built camaraderie among the Saints students and was certainly not an indication of lack. However, even when sharing, you never let go of your whole hotdog, but held it in such a manner that the person you were sharing it with only bit off the size you allowed him to!

I include this part, to show, that in school, Uhuru was as down to earth and easy going as they come.

However, such banter was limited to your class or year mate, or senior to junior students, never downwards as that would be considered a form of indiscipline and intimidation.

Loved sport

Uhuru was a nimble-footed rugby player, blind side winger, initially on the Senior Colts team and later at least the schools 2nd XV. He put in the hard training sessions required to make the cut, and his speed was always his escape route from both danger and towards the try line.

With his long strides, Uhuru had a decent rugby brain and he certainly enjoyed the rough and tumble of the school’s beloved sport.

Uhuru and his good friend Jimmy Kibaki both espied their future brides while at St. Marys School. Both First Lady Margaret Kenyatta née Gaul and Sheryl Kibaki née Vienna were students at Msongari. Margaret is of Kenyan and German extraction, while Sheryl is of Goan extraction.

Margaret is the youngest of four siblings, with their first-born Maina, tight as a fist with Uhuru!

Of the three Kenyattas that I knew at Saints, Uhuru was the most easy-going of the lot. Those who were and have remained close to him (I wasn’t) state that he is very loyal to old friends, hence, perhaps, his presence in Machakos for the burial of our former Head Boy Martin Malinda, and that of John Ngumba’s wife last week.

Ian Duncan, Jimmy, Frank and Sam Gachago, together with late Steve Kanyotu and Keirion Thorpe (also deceased), were some of the alumni, whom I got the impression, Uhuru enjoyed their company and fun times together, back in the day.

Saints students were allowed to drive and park their personal cars in School, once they reached upper 6th. Uhuru was no exception, and his choice of car was a classic cream Mercedes 190, with the plates KWT 185.

Like all educational institutions, there were traditions by which you could identify a Saint, with finesse and good command of the English language being just two of them.  Any time we watched Uhuru on TV during the course of the presidential campaigns we would say to ourselves: “Listen to that Saints English!”

– The writer can be reached on: “mailto: charlesouko@yahoo.com”