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Chebonei Girls High School in Tenwek, Bomet County was founded by the Missionaries of African Gospel Church in 1947.
The school was for boys and girls, but later, it was changed into a girls’ boarding school. In the 1940s, it served as a refugee camp for girls running away from female genital mutilation.
But in 1952, the school was closed down and learners were transferred to Kipsigis Girls’ High School. It remained closed for 50 years until it resumed in 2002.
Cheboneians dress in navy-blue skirts, pullovers and white blouses, the reason they were nicknamed Navy Blue Queens.
In Chebz, as the school is popularly known, bread was served twice a week and many a student opted to buy their own from Tivoh’s kiosk.
Tenwek Boys High School was Chebz’s brother school, but any time Cheboneians went for academic or sports activities there or any other boys’ school, their teachers had to sniff each of them to check whether they had applied Fair &Lovely lotion that charmed the boys.
Morning cold showers were punctuated with screams that would annoy the administration.
Sneaking out to dig out carrots in the school shamba was an evening pastime, but the unlucky ones had to endure some strokes of the cane.
It was here that President Daniel arap Moi’s wife Lena Moi was taught arithmetic. The late second First Lady was among the first batch of girls admitted to Chebonei Girls High School.
In 2014, the Moi family built a Sh10 million dining hall at Chebonei High School and it was renamed after Lena Moi. Her son, Baringo Senator Gideon Moi is the school’s patron.
Popular Kalenjin musician Diana Chelele who was allegedly killed by his husband early last year, schooled at Chebonei, but dropped out in Form Three.
Alumni guided by the “Discipline and Hard Work” motto include Dr Esther Sitienei, a specialist nurse in Austin, USA; Wendy Chepkoech of Oracle Associates, Joyce Koech, sales executive at Cooperative Bank; and Grace Kones, accountant at Jinsen Company.
Other alumni include Stella Ng’eno, environment officer at Bomet County Government, Evaline Chepngeno, a model; and Mercy Chelangat, a chief engineer at Telkom Solutions.
