Irish missionary Antony Woods buried at Kitui school he founded in 1960s

Kitui governor Julius Malombe joins Catholic sisters in viewing the body of Robert Antony Woods at St Charles Lwanga Secondary School in Kitui County on Tuesday 13, 2023. Mr Woods founded the school in 1968 and taught there for 30 years. [Maxwell Agwanda, Standard]

A lay missionary from Ireland who spent three decades as the head of one of Kitui's best-performing schools was on Tuesday buried in the same institution which he built from scratch in the late 1960s.

Robert Antony Woods, who died two weeks ago in Eldoret, came to Kitui in 1968 and founded St Charles Lwanga Secondary School, which he built to now an academic giant.

At the time of his death, Woods aged 79, was the chancellor of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar.

Woods, a lay missionary of Irish roots, joined the school as a headmaster at the tender age of 24 and taught there between 1968-1997.

During this time, the school excelled in academics, co-curricular activities and discipline.

During the funeral mass held at the school, by bishop Joseph Mongela of Kitui Catholic Diocese, Woods was described as the epitome of humility and integrity - one who loved humanity and devoted all his life to helping the poor.

Woods never owned a car and preferred to move around on a motorbike.

For all the years he taught there, his students fondly referred to him as Miti, a Kamba translation of Woods, a name he also came to cherish as he connected easily with his students.

Around the school

"Whenever he walked around the school, students would whisper Miti Miti then dive into their books," the old boys, who included Bishop Mwongela said in their eulogy statement.

Some of his early students were older than him, with some having wives and children at home. The first Form One lot was accommodated at St Joseph's Seminary in Mwingi, some 90 kilometres away from Kitui town as Woods mobilised funds to set up the school's infrastructure.

Both workmates and old boys of the school eulogised Woods as a great teacher who was visionary, and selfless and led the school with maximum dedication and responsibility for decades.

His deputy, Mr Mbua remembered Woods as a person who espoused simplicity and who focused his energies on ensuring that his students excelled.

Mbua said Woods loved to read books, all manner of books, especially at odd hours. "He would leave class at 8pm, then return to his office at 11pm where he would read until 3am," Mbua said, adding that his boss taught all the classes and all the subjects except sciences.

During his time, there was no student unrest in the school except for a small incident in 1979, where Form Four students stormed the kitchen at night and drank porridge meant for breakfast the following morning.

"The following day, four of us were singled out and suspended for two weeks. However, before we left, Woods called and allowed us to borrow textbooks from the library. Although on suspension, he did not want to deny us our right to education," Dr Temi Mutia, a university lecturer and a value chain expert told The Standard on the sidelines of the funeral.

Kitui Governor Julius Malombe while eulogising Woods, noted that his character and good deeds in helping the society needed to be emulated to make the country a better place.

Old Boys' proposal

The governor supported the old boys' proposal to have a foundation set up in honour of Woods, where funds would be pooled together to assist needy but bright students. This was supported by former governor Charity Ngilu who also attended the event.

Kenya's ambassador to South Korea Mwende Mwinzi delivered a tribute from her mother, Mary Mwinzi, an American retired teacher who knew Woods when she taught at Mulango Girls Secondary School where she was also the headmistress.

"Woods was everything good and everything admirable. He has left a rich legacy of moulding boys to become professionals in different spheres," said the retired teacher who was married to the late Maluki Mwinzi, also a teacher from Migwani in Mwingi West.

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