Important lessons on leadership from the Nairobi's Starehe community

By Fred Gori

Doubts in the hearts of many old boys, many of whom are now worried about the future of the school. Barely days after his demise, Starehe was embroiled in a quiet but intense leadership contest, which unfortunately followed a tribal pattern so familiar in Kenya. In the end, some of the old boys who Griffin had strategically put in place as part of his succession plan were kicked out.

Prof Jesse Mugambi, (his three sons all passed through Starehe), who succeeded Griffin as director resigned in January 2009 to concentrate on his duties as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nairobi.  However, the new leadership has been unable to maintain the standards that Griffin had set. During the last eight years, we have witnessed falling academic standards, growing indiscipline among students, lack of motivation among teachers and a rise in lethargy in management. In fact, some parents complained at the failure by management to issue progress reports to their children last term.

Sadly, the school management committee, the body responsible for governance and policy, seems completely out of touch with the happenings at the school and the chairman, traditionally the top executive of Kenya Shell (now Vivo Energy Kenya), may not even be aware that he holds that position.

Many old boys now fear for the future of the school considering the not-so-pleasant exam results over the past three years. They also fear the credibility of the school is at stake and this could cost it goodwill and injure donor relations. Unfortunately for old boys, the school constitution only provides them one slot in the management committee, which is occupied by the Chairman of the Old Starehian Society.

What lessons can Kenya learn from Starehe’s debacle? One is that leadership is central to civilisation and progress. Past glorious days can be brought to ignominy in a flash when the citizens forfeit their responsibility to put good leadership in place. Closely related to leadership is the importance of succession planning. Griffin may have tried his best to put old boys, who shared Starehe ideals, in critical positions prior to his demise. The second lesson is the power of a good name. Starehe thrived for more four decades, growing from two tin huts in 1959 to become one of the most respected charitable institutions on the continent. 

Kenyans must learn that important decisions made by individuals, institutions and even nations can be influenced by having a good name and therefore it is our responsibility to guard our reputation at all costs without necessarily compromising on the ideals of nationhood.

Finally, Starehe has taught us that temporal differences such as tribe, race, religion and creed can be an ever present hurdle to our progress. However, we must never allow these differences to divide us and thereby slow down our civilisation. It requires eternal vigilance and leadership, as Griffin did at Starehe, to ensure that we move from a nation that sees itself in terms of its differences, to one united in diversity.