College Memories

When I transitioned to the institute division of Starehe Boys' Centre in January 2006 to pursue a diploma in information technology, I formed the habit of sneaking out of school on Sunday mornings. I did that so as to attend the 8:00 a.m. mass of my hometown Catholic church where I enjoyed the company of youths.

One Sunday in 2006 while I was away from Starehe, the students had trouble singing the school song which I regularly accompanied on the piano. That made my absence from Starehe to be felt, and when I went back to the school, some captains threatened to report me to Mr. Joseph Gikubu, the then acting director of the school, for sneaking out of Starehe on Sundays.

I can't remember ever feeling afraid of the captains' threats. All I recall is that the issue died down after a few days and I continued sneaking out of school on Sunday mornings. I was such a daring student.

Apart from sneaking out of school on Sunday mornings, another offence I committed during my days at Starehe Institute in 2006 was failing to report back to school on the official opening day of each term. I would prolong my holidays by four or five days.

In January 2007 when I didn't return to Starehe on opening day, an institute classmate named Jamlick Kogi kept asking me via the internet when I was going to join him in school. I joked to him that I was still around like mud.

While relaxing at home that same January of 2007 after failing to report back to school as expected, I heard on TV over lunchtime news that Starehe had a new director. His name was Prof. Jesse Mugambi. And he sounded eloquent as he addressed journalists about his new role as the director of the school where I was pursuing my education.

On returning to Starehe Institute in January 2007 following my prolonged holiday, I resolved to stop sneaking out of school on Sunday mornings because it no longer felt right to me. I thought it wise to get permission from the new director to be leaving school on Sundays. So I approached one of my hometown Catholic priests and explained my predicament to him.

And wow! The priest turned out to be very understanding. He wrote a letter, requesting the director of Starehe to grant me permission to worship with youths in his church on Sundays. He began the letter by saying, "Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ..." And as he wrote the letter, he informed me that he had read some books by Prof. Jesse Mugambi to whom he was addressing the letter.

The following week, I presented the letter to Prof. Jesse Mugambi who consulted his deputy before granting me permission to be leaving Starehe on Sundays. He printed a note that indicated he approved my absence from Starehe on Sundays. I showed the note, which had the official stamp of Prof. Jesse Mugambi, to the institute captain.

You know what? A few weeks after he granted me permission to be leaving Starehe on Sundays, Prof. Mugambi began acting tough on the institute students of the school. He contemplated expelling some of them for failing their accounting exams. And when he found a few of us dozing during class hours, he warned us that "if you have nothing to do, don't do it here."

Then around March 2007 when KCSE results were released and Starehe emerged tops, some institute students who had excelled in the exams dashed to their homes without permission to celebrate their exemplary performance - something I had also done the year before when I scored an 'A' in those mighty exams. After four gruelling high school years, it felt natural to rejoice with our families for having excelled in the exams, much in the same way soccer players pause matches to celebrate with their teammates whenever they score.

On learning that some institute students had gone home to celebrate their KCSE results, Prof. Mugambi dealt with them high-handedly when they came back to school. He issued them with threats, summoned their parents to school for interrogation and expelled quite a number of them, including my friend Richard Kagia who was active in the Christian Union movement.

That time Kagia and his fellow students were being put to task for going home to celebrate their KCSE results, I must have felt safe and secure to have a note that granted me permission to be leaving Starehe on Sundays. I wonder what would have happened to me if I had continued sneaking out of school on Sundays without permission and a captain breathed a word about it to the new director. It had been very wise of me to acquire that note.

Come to think of it, I am of the opinion that Prof. Mugambi created a storm in a teacup by the actions he took on the institute students who had dashed home to celebrate their KCSE results. He overreacted. Had I been the director of Starehe at that time, I would have organized a bash at the school canteen for the students when they came back to school.

"Guys!" I would tell them during the bash, "You have done us proud. Thank you so much for preserving the good name of Starehe with your spectacular performance in KCSE exams."

And then towards the end of my congratulatory speech, I would conclude, "But guys, now KCSE stuff is over. I want you to concentrate on your institute courses with the same zeal you studied for KCSE. Okay?"

By saying so, I would have boosted the morale of the students, unlike Prof. Mugambi who demoralized them by issuing them with threats, summoning their parents to school and expelling those who didn't comply with his instructions.

Indeed, Prof. Mugambi created a storm in a teacup. Or to put it in other words, he used a sledgehammer to crack a nut, for he ended up causing more harm by messing up with the lives of students who were relying on Starehe Institute for their education.

Prof. Mugambi also denied Starehe the talents of such dedicated students as Richard Kagia who was skilled at soloing traditional Agikuyu folk songs. It wasn't good to see Kagia go during our college days at Starehe Institute. Ciao!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on my college memories, you might also enjoy another one on "How My Captain Helped Me" which I wrote a couple of years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.