Barrack Boys: Where Kitutu Masaba's Timothy Bosire ate githeri on the soccer pitch

During last week’s State of The Nation address by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kitutu Masaba MP, Timothy Bosire, refused to stand up when Uhuru asked Members of Parliament to observe a minute of silence to honour fallen KDF soldiers.

Bosire’s defiance made Uhuru reprimand him thus: “You are not standing up for me, but for the fallen soldiers.”

His rebellious nature (according to guys on social media), gave him space in newspapers. 

Everyone wanted to know who this guy was. Surely, where do such people go to school? 

Well, we went out of our way to find out where the mheshimiwa schooled. Bwana Bosire attended St Paul’s Gekano High School, where boys were taught to question authority and be independent thinkers.

The school was once the academic giant in Nyamira County in the 1980s and 1990s, when its student population stood at 800. But it is now a shadow of its former self with only 150 students.

Bosire, a first-time ODM legislator, visited the school last year and ordered all Napier grass uprooted after finding cows grazing in the compound. Teachers, he ordered, should not keep cattle in school.

The school, now with dilapidated buildings, is church-sponsored but funded by the State. Because of the rivalry between the two parties, many smart teachers and students have lately given it a wide berth. 

One peculiarity of St Paul’s Gekano - which has no fence - is that boys dispensed with the modern, spacious dining hall and chose to instead take their meals in the football field!

‘Barrack Boys,’ as it was nicknamed for its strict discipline, has five dormitories; Chui, Simba, Ndovu, Kifaru and Sungura. The nearby St Theresa Gekano Girls is its sister school.

Notable alumni St Paul’s Gekano who wore gray trousers, white shirts and green sweaters include the late fiery Kitutu Masaba MP George Anyona, Principal Policy Analyst at the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research, Dr John Omiti and university lecturers, Prof Nyabuti Keraro (Egerton) and Dr Monda Swara (Moi).

The school has also produced top-notch lawyers and several journalists, including Maseme Machuka, Angwenyi Gichana, Geoffrey Mosoku and Dennis Odunga.