Kisumu Boys: Where Eric Omondi was no joker

Comedian Eric Omondi and muscle men demonstrate on the high cost of living outside Parliament buildings on February 21,2023. PHOTO: [ELVIS OGINA]

This school, ensconced along Nairobi Road, next to The Aga Khan Hospital, is one of the oldest schools in Western Kenya. Kisumu Boys was founded in 1925 as Indian Primary School courtesy of the colonial government.

The decision to build an all-Indian school was arrived at after the Asian population grew tenfold in Kisumu town.

It was not until 1948 that the school became a government-sponsored institution, then known as Indian High School, with G.S. Amar as the first principal. The primary section was relocated.

The school, which initially admitted boys and girls, moved all the girls to a separate school, paving the way for Kisumu Boys' High School in 1961.

The A-level examinations were done in the school for the first time in 1964. Interestingly, the boys shared science and art classes with students from Kisumu Girls' High which had been started in 1962.

The school, also referred to as 'KB,' started admitting African students (and even management personnel) from 1964.

Some of the notable alumni who were nurtured under the motto 'Aim High' include businessmen Ketan Somaia and Kamlesh Pattni, Doshi CEO Deepak Shah, Justice Alnasir Visram, Former Kisumu Town West MP Olago Aluoch, MP Babu Owino and comedian brothers Eric and Fred Omondi.