Litein High School: Where Governor Eric Mutai scrambled for "United bread"

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Litein High is a boys’ only boarding school in Bureti Constituency, Kericho County.  The institution was founded in the 1930s by the African Inland Mission Church. It began as a premise for disadvantaged women in the Nandi community as well as a training venue.

In 1962, however, the government of Kenya converted the institution to an intermediate learning centre and two years later (1964) to a secondary school providing Kenya Junior Secondary Certificate Examinations KJSC up-to Form Two level.

In May 2023, the administration was forced to close the school for several days after students staged demonstrations which led to destruction of school properties. Among the vital properties destroyed during the melee included the school’s administration block, vehicles belonging to the school’s teachers, biometric systems, and laboratory and window panes for the classes. The protests were staged in relation to a shift of the entertainment timetable from Sunday evening to afternoon. Police officers were called to rein in the demonstrators.

Former students remember the names of their dormitories which include Moi Cube, Moi Hall, Ndenda, Tengencha, Armstedam, Kenyatta, Mugeni and Obama. Other dorms are Techoget, Samoei, Bishop Koech, and Kisiara.

The students also cherish a quarter loaf of bread from the “United brand” which they used to be served for breakfast and 10 o’clock tea.  Many of the students, including prefects, could scramble to get a share of this sweet bread.

Many also remember Mr Ogamba Joshwa (OJ), a no-nonsense disciplinarian who ensured all students followed school rules to the letter.  The funny names he used to refer to naughty students are still fresh in the students’ minds. They include you are a cabbage, go to hell, hang yourself among others. 

Former students who were guided by the school motto, In God we Trust, include Kericho Governor Eric Mutai, Alex Kemboi, a Nairobi based engineer, Ronnie Chirchir, a digital strategist at  Palscity Global and Malcolm Brian, CEO at Greenhorn Mentorship.