Robert Nyamongo: Engineer who built Kirigiti Shooting Range

Shooting as a sport in Kenya began in 1906, when the legion of frontiersmen, who were a company of the East Africa Volunteer Reserve, organized the first-ever competitive target shooting event in the country.

The practicability of shooting sports is that the competitors try to unite three principles of precision, power, and speed, by using a firearm of a certain minimum power factor to score as many points as possible during the shortest amount of time.

Usually, the shooter must move and shoot from several positions, fire under or over obstacles, engage targets immediately they become visible plus any other unfamiliar positions in a bid to solve real-world self-defense scenarios.

Like they say in the game of shooting sports, "Practice until you can't get it wrong". Kenya's pioneer Master shooter Eng. Robert Nyamongo and his Co-Masters are living proof of this adage.

"I was the first black African to be awarded the highest rank of Master in the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) African Championship, in 2017, in Johannesburg," Nyamongo says.

In all the competitions he has taken part in, between 2015-2020, Nyamongo who competes in the ESP division has managed to bag several gold medals and won trophies that are sitting calmly in his mantelpiece.

"In 2018, I was undefeated in pistol competitions in Kenya," Nyamongo, an honorary member of the National Gun Owners Association of Kenya (NGAO-K), tells The Nairobian.

Among the competitions he's taken part in are the IDPA World championship in Talladega, USA, African Championships in Ermelo Mpumalanga and False Bay South-Africa, Southern Nationals in Touwsrivier South-Africa, Chairman's Cup in Kirigiti Shooting range- Kiambu, Sanctioned matches in Mombasa and Nairobi, and Mashujaa Day Cup.

Eng. Nyamongo uses his expertise to conduct training for both amateur and top shooters, at the Kenya Regiment Rifle Club (KRRC) and NGAO-K, in addition to coaching the women's and men's national teams.

Nyamongo also wears many hats as he is an arbitrator in shooting matches, an organizer, and a Safety Officer at NGAO-K, KRRC, Bamburi Rifle Club (BRC), and Kedong Ranch Range.

Through his experience in the sport, the Master has managed to train and mentor over 70 percent of Kenya's top shooters.

Nyamongo's success in becoming a Master did not shoot up overnight. It has taken hard work and desire to succeed. The master has invested his time and finances towards acquiring skills that saw him excel in the sport.

The ESP star enrolled at Zero Points Down Academy in South Africa where he studied shooting fundamentals, advanced shooting skills, and Mathematics of shooting, among other courses.

He was also Inayat Kassam's student at Scorpio Africa Kenya, where he studied firearm handling and use, and Advanced Tactical Shooting.

In 2017, he undertook an Advanced Shooting Training course with world shooting sports champion Robert Vogel. He also trained with (IDPA) Africa Champion Ian Van Der Bank in South Africa.

He studied an advanced dry fire training course under USPSA Grand Master shooter Steve Anderson. Nyamongo, the structural engineer from the University of Nairobi, was part of the brains that researched, designed, and supervised the construction of the Kirigiti Shooting Range, tucked within the evergreen coffee bushes in Kiambu.

When not at the range shooting or training shooters, he's busy supervising his vast "Mjengo" in Nairobi and other counties.