Tricky Third Form And What Happened in 1980

Third form was a very tricky year in those days. You suddenly found that you were no longer a rabble and with plenty of time in your hands that you never used to have and with no major national exam in the horizon. Little wonder that the third form dorm was the place with the loudest laughter in the house.  It was the form where previously ardent and regular CU (Christian Union) members abandoned the faith that kept them going through the rabble years in droves. It is the year when most people would lose it in many ways. Some took to serious drinking, others joined the herbalist society (bhang smokers).

Head of School in 1980 was Andy Mwenesi. One of the most powerful head boys in all my six years at Lenana as is evidenced by what I will say here later. Andy was a surprise choice given that even in those days he was an extremely popular guy who liked to have fun. I believe that this was the first year when the headmaster Ndau Kanyi had a very influential hand in deciding who the head boy would be having fully settled in with his first full year in 1979. Andy was a great rugby player but also knew how to carry authority and so brought much respect to the office of head boy. He opted not to have a head of house and so doubled up as both head of Mumia and head boy uynlike his immediate predecessor Mogere.

Andy wrote the words of the school anthem which was unveiled that year and used for many years after that (to date I believe).

Head of Kirk that year was Aliker considered a cool guy and an accomplished lady’s man. He was the kind of head of house you were proud to have.

I dived head-long into house activities and even made an effort to fill in where we were thin as a house. For instance cross country was an activity that most avoided and so our house cross country team was always made up of mostly first and second formers. I voluntarily joined the house cross country team and encouraged the juniors to push themselves and better our scores against other houses. We didn’t always do well but we kept the Kirk flag flying. It was therefore hardly a surprise when I earned my full Kirk house colours early that year.

But this was also the year when I made a grave error that I regretted for many years after that. One day during prep time we were given pieces of paper and told to list down the activities we participated in both at house and school level. I was bubbling with raw ambition and so after filling the paper with the many activities I was already involved in, I was inspired to add my future ambitions. I assumed that what we were filling out would be confidential and so I had nothing to worry about. I was wrong. Word got out about my many listed ambitions and suddenly I found myself with many enemies and I also became the subject of frequent jokes earning nick names like “head of school.” Still I at least learnt a valuable lesson; In a competitive situation nobody likes overly ambitious people.

1979 And The Injury That Killed My Soccer Dreams

1979 ended in a sensational but also extremely painful way for me. Up to this point I still considered soccer to be my only serious sport, despite all the rapid progress I had already made in rugby. I can still remember that lunch time very early in third term when the 1st XI list went up and my name was on it to start at No 4. That year we played a 4-3-3 formation with overlapping full backs on the flanks (I was the one playing that role on the right). Rugby master Mr Opiyo (who also taught history) was a great tactician and for a school team to be playing such a formation then was quite something. Those who understand soccer will know that it is a formation that requires a lot of discipline and maturity from players, especially from the overlapping full backs.

I was still a rabble then and serving on our table that week but the maroon kit arrived. I came from clearing the table after lunch to find it placed on my bed in the third form dorm where I slept. It was then that I really knew that it was for real.

It was a tough game against Upper Hill at home on Sterlings. I remember a sixth former called Njonjo congratulated me for making the team, just before we went in for lunch. That was really something coming from a house prefect.

Naturally I was very nervous at the start of the game but fortunately it was not too difficult to settle especially playing right next to Nesbitt Wesonga (the only other Kirk person on that team) who was sweeper at Number 5. That team was made up of mostly third formers and credit goes to captain Jack Mtula (head of Thomson that year) who didn’t care for anything but fielding the best talent available at Lenana that year. There was the twin attacking force on that team that was a real joy to watch of Kiragu and Oloo both from Thomson house and between the posts in goal was legendary rugby player George Steak Ondiek also from Thomson. All were third formers.

I played the game of my life causing Upper Hill plenty of problems on that right flank but we were losing 3-1 and the second half had just started when some very rough deliberate play by an Upper hill player no doubt very experienced at causing serious injury brought me down with excruciating pain. Essentially he placed his heavy studs on my ankle at the point of contact just as I was clearing the ball. To this day I believe it was all very deliberate with the clear intention of getting me off the pitch. And it worked. The pain was nothing like I had ever experienced before in my life and I was sure that I had broken something. Itebete (a sixth former) replaced me. In retrospect the replacement could not have come at a better time for tactical reasons. Itebete had been watching the game from the side lines and when he came in he literally abandoned the right back position and mostly played very deep in midfield and attack on the right flank which completely destabilized Upper Hill and helped produce 3 quick sensational goals. Final score 4-3 in favor of Lenana. Steve Alai of James had an unforgettable game scoring twice.

I spent 3 days in the school sanatorium barely able to put any weight on my right ankle. There was no X-ray machine in the san but the matron there (I forget her name) carefully examined my injury and declared that I had not broken anything. I found it hard to believe because even the pain killers she gave hardly seemed to have any effect on the pain. In the end she was proved right because I recovered enough to go back to Kirk.

Tragically that injury killed all my dreams for a serious soccer career. Back in my primary school days I had been told by several people that it was only a matter of time before I donned national colours for Harambee stars, now the injury meant that that was never to be. From then on I was destined to be only a shadow of what I used to be on the soccer pitch. I recovered around the middle of the term and struggled but never regained my position in the first XI that year. Pretty face did not lose the opportunity to jeer with glee. He met me once near the quadrangle where the team list used to be put up. “You thought you would be a permanent member of the 1st XI huh?” He accompanied it with that sarcastic laugh that I can still hear very clearly.

Meanwhile the injury never quite healed and even today kicking a soccer ball hard will bring some pain in my right ankle. I improvised as best as I could and developed a way to kick the ball with my outer foot so that there was less pain from the injury. The results in soccer were mixed but in rugby it produced a kick for touch that people are still talking about 30 years later. So at least there was something good that came out of it.

It was probably the wrong time to get such an injury because I sometimes think that if it was today it would have been treated and I would have recovered fully. But them maybe I would not have had such an eventful rugby career. Which confirms to me once again that everything ( no matter how tragic) happens for a reason.

As usual the year closed with house suppers that year and I got to taste a tiny piece of turkey and two roast potatoes unlike the previous year when all I had seen were a few miserable peas on my plate. Even with the almost ever- present pain in my ankle I was elated as I reflected on 1979. My rabble days were over and in 1980 I would be a third former. I had not only survived but had also managed to chalk up a few achievements along the way despite being a rabble in one of the worst houses to be one. The future looked tremendously bright as 1980 beckoned.

Photographs Mean Maroon 1979

 Photograph courtesy Max Muniafu
Caption for top photograph;  Lenana 7s Team. 1979. RFUEA WINNERS. SITTING: Jack Mtula; Jimi James Muchiri; Dickson Mogere; Dave Madara; Kamau. STANDING: Dan Kimoro; Max Muniafu; Douglas Wekhomba; Maddox Maurice Itebete.

Caption to second photograph; Lenana 15s Team. 1979. SITTING (?); Dan Kimoro; James Muchiri; Dickson Mogere; Dave Madara; Jack Mtula; Kamau. STANDING: Nahashon Otieno; Abel Okaka; John Ogola; Dave Muraya; Andy Mwenesi; Max Muniafu; Douglas Wekhomba; Maurice Itebete; Yobera; David Bukusi; Stake Ondiek

Mean Maroon rugby 1979

"Steak" Ondiek (in a white shirt and holding a glass) in a recent photo taken during the Las Vegas sevens in 2011. On the extreme right is another Lenana legend who joined the school after "Steak" had left, Martin Ndenda.

In 79 the bulk of the ’78 and highly successful ’77 rugby team had departed. Still new stars emerged to take their places. I am just amazed at the endless belt of rugby talent that Lenana has been able to sustain whatever the circumstances. Some of the new faces who were very visible that year included Jimmy James Muchiri of Mumia (a fly half and amazing goal kicker from any angle) and Max Muniafu (a ferocious forward) who was borrowed by CF from Mumia when he returned in 5th Form.

Unfortunately in Kirk we were not as well represented as we had been the previous year. In fact the only guy I seem to recall playing on that team was a guy called Otieno. I remember an interesting tale involving him. In those days we were still playing in the Eric Shirley Shield and so Mean Maroon would sometimes play as many as two or even three games in one week. Otieno (who was a winger) got injured but was still determined to play in the next game two days later. And so on match day I saw him hobbling up and down the Kirk corridor. Looking at him I thought he was crazy to even think of playing in that condition. But he just kept at it determined to warm up his leg injury. Later I saw him in the Maroon kit headed to Ridge 1, still limping a little. With lots of apprehension I headed there to watch the game. I don’t remember who we were playing but amazingly he did okay. Dick Mogere who was head of school was also the captain of that side. The guy’s passion for rugby was unmistakable.

That year Mean Maroon had a serious problem in the full back position. Jimmy Owino (a member of the legendary Eric Shirley winning side of 77 and HOH Speke) had departed the previous year. Actually the crisis developed when Ramoya of Mitchell was injured after only a game or two. That year I played my rugby for senior Colts and “Stake” Ondiek ( a third former) would sometimes appear at our training sessions jokingly asking us to ensure that we kept a place in the team for him. He was a full back just like me but used to train with the 1st XV. Small but heavily built he ended up being Ramoya’s replacement. At first I must admit I was skeptical but after watching him play in just one game, I was amazed. His positioning and ability to read the oppositions’ next move was just out of this world. For instance the opposing fly half would kick for touch deep into our half and amazingly Ondiek would be there catching the ball before it even bounced. His tackling was a joy to watch—very low, very clinical. And of course he would kick for touch too.

However Lenana being Lenana the captain Mogere seemed to be under a lot of pressure not to play a guy who had been a rabble just the other day. Luckily he was a guy who believed in merit above the school’s strict seniority system unlike other Mean Maroon skippers in later years. He would even toss fifth and fourth formers out of the school bus in favour of rabbles who played rugby for a school team when we were going out to watch an international game at Quins. Ondiek deserved the big break and in danger of sounding boring and repetitious I shall say once again what I have said in numerous other threads here on Facebook. Stake Ondiek is one of the greatest Full backs Lenana has ever produced and it is a great pity that he did not stay in Kenya long enough to play club and international rugby because more people would have been able to see what all the fuss I have been making here is all about.

On a personal level I was rapidly developing my own game for Kirk and the school senior Colts team where we demolished most of the opposition we came across.

Foxy Kimani

Earlier in first form we had had a first former called Jeneby who couldn’t survive the bullying and left after only a few weeks. In second form he was replaced by a guy called Kimani. We nicknamed him foxy. A tall slim guy who wore specs.

Epileptic fits are quite something to behold especially if you have never come across them before. Foxy started having them quite regularly shortly after he arrived only that they appeared to be something more than just the ordinary. This may have been proved after Judas Memba Muriuki (who was still a Catholic then before he became a practicing Rastafarian in later years) suggested that we place a Bible under his pillow. It actually worked. He would never get the fits when the Bible was there and when he had one they would subside instantly the moment the Bible was produced. It is very hard to explain, I am simply stating the facts here. I remember that one day Foxy himself told us that the problem started after he fell off the back of a moving pick up and hit his head against something.

What made the situation even more explosive was the fact that a number of people thought that the poor guy was simply faking it, including the bullies. One episode involving the Mitchell house master Mr Ralfs comes to mind. He angrily stormed into the dorm one morning after Foxy had missed breakfast and demanded to know what he thought he was up to. I don’t quite remember how it all ended but I doubt whether he really believed that the guy had a problem that was serious enough to warrant his skipping breakfast.

When he was okay Foxy was a jovial guy who was a lot of fun to be around. One of those guys who was everybody’s friend, even the bullies. I wonder where he is now and what happened to him over the years.

1979 and second form was also the year that two people who became my closest friends arrived. Alfred Odindo came in fifth form and Maina Kinguru joined first form. Although he was several years ahead of me, we shared many things in common with Odindo. I also marveled at the way his sharp witty mind dissected and analyzed situations. I recently came across him right here in Facebook after all these decades and from the exchanges we have had he has not changed one bit and it is so hard to imagine as that grey haired university professor he was quick to describe himself as. Golly where did the years go?

Although many people saw Maina Kinguru only as a rabble his intellect was extra-ordinary. I have never met anybody who was so much into Greek Mythology. The 3 of us were of course crazy about theatre. Odindo wrote a splendid house play and I was one of the first people to read the script and even suggested a title that he liked and ended up using. “Daddy won’t be coming home for dinner” was the title. It was the moving tale of a child who is outraged when nobody appears to take action against the known killer of his dad and opts to do something drastic to avenge the death. It did not sweep any awards in the annual house plays like Angawa’s play had done the previous year for Kirk but in the schools festival the following year we missed the finals by a whisker. Kingori of Lugard was exceptional playing the kid. And so was Mirikau of Speke as the murderer. Mirikau was a very gifted actor because he somehow managed to inject a little humour into the character and amazingly made a very evil man more than a little lovable.

I surprised even myself because although I was only a second former I was already beginning to enjoy myself at Lenana even as I got to learn so much from others in activities like drama—more so because I already knew that I wanted to become a writer after school.

Gerald Walker adds; Foxy died in a road accident heading to Mombasa (not Limuru), in 1984, I know because we were supposed to go together but I travelled to the UK for a short holiday; I found out the day I got back that he had been involved in a car accident – someone from his home had left a message for me - he was at Aga Khan, went immediately to the hospital, and straight to the ward since I had the details, but didn’t see him. The duty nurse asked me who I was looking, when I gave her the name, she said to me ‘he has left’ and she looked away, I was puzzled for a moment because the message given to me was very clear - unless then injuries sustained were not that serious then, so perhaps he’d been discharged….she hesitated for a few moments then clarified that he had just died about an hour before I arrived. Simon Kimani was buried at his father’s home in Kiambu.

Girls and bowel movements

Letters would usually be distributed around lunch time collected from Blue man up school. It was a time to catch up with news from the outside world and from home for some of us. Some lucky second formers were already receiving love letters but I certainly wasn’t among them.

Actually I frequently received snail mail from just one person—the woman who was taking care of my kid bro, birthed by my late mother on her death bed. I looked forward to the letters because I was anxious to learn how he was getting on. But I also dreaded them because there was always the chance that somebody would take a closer look at the handwriting and realize that it was penned by somebody who had hardly completed primary school. Naturally they wouldn’t know the story and I could only imagine all kinds of cruel jokes being crafted. Her letters were always brief and she would write in Swahili but I was always grateful for them and delighted to know the progress being made by the toddler and my other siblings whom I felt extremely responsible for being a first born and also because of our circumstances of being without a mother. Many times I would smile while reading the letters, or get extremely sentimental. Just the kind of things that would give the wrong impression to anybody carefully observing me because they were precisely the kind of reactions one would have reading a love letter from some girl. I am grateful that my fears were never realized.

I was one of the few second formers who slept in the third form dorm and most of them regularly received those valued letters from some lass. However some prominent characters whom I shall not expose did not and so they created this refrain that they would always repeat to pour cold water on the romantic exploits of others. “Yes, the girl was very cute and very sexy but even as you read their letters the fact was that she was human and subject to regular bowel movements. The whole idea was to focus on that which was only natural. It was hilarious the way they said it but I fear some characters took it to heart and avoided the girls even more.

1979 and those who wanted to bully

The year would start with the very first assembly in the school hall where the big event was the announcement of the Head of school. This was a big event in many ways including the fact that it destroyed lives, caused others to go into hibernation etc. depending on this one single announcement. Mogere of CF was announced Head of School. A big guy with a small voice.

Our head of house this year was George Osure. A tall big guy who couldn’t be beaten in either the 100 metres or 200 metres.

As second formers we were happy to see some characters had departed from Lenana for good. Our lives would only get better.

There was of course the endless wait for first formers to arrive and take over most of the load we were still carrying as the only rabbles around.

When they finally arrived towards the end of January, the true colours of many of us came out. I detested bullying with all my heart and had no intention of meting out any of the treatment I had received on the first formers. Some of my housemates in second form did not agree and just couldn’t wait to get a little revenge for the hell they had gone through in first form. I found this odd because we had spent hours with some of them discussing how we would never involve ourselves in the crude, barbaric acts of bullying. Now some of them were really excited about the prospect of pushing around and hitting first formers.

When they arrived we were able to see for the first time just how confused we must have looked on our fist day in school the previous year.

Kirk people I remember who left in 1978

You really cannot avoid talking about characters in a story like this one and Kirk 78 had quite some characters. I will talk about the ones who left Lenana in 1978.

In sixth form we had an Asian guy whom I believe was doing double maths in his combination called Desai. Was rarely seen at house practices and was almost always in his study. He had come to Lenana in fifth form. There was Thairu built like a tank and therefore impossible to neck-tackle. A speedy winger who was very exciting to watch for Mean Maroon. Ayodo (E.O) whom I had the honour of playing rugby with later at Impala club. I really admired his “torpedo” kicks for touch which I saw for the first time in ’78 and If I ever became a good kicker for touch this is where the inspiration came form. Coach (Wachira Waruru) our wise head of house who was extremely fast in 100 metres. Angawa the deputy head of house that I have already spoken about at length in an earlier post. Ombima was doing sciences but would always draw accurate and hilarious cartoons and caricatures and stick them up on the house notice board. The most memorable I remember was the one he did after we had beaten Mumia in a tense seniors rugby final. It went up about an hour after the final whistle (I kid you not). An amazing guy. Incidentally we rabbles loved him best in those days because he was an active member of Christian Union and never lifted a finger against any of us. Ganase was a great rugby player and hilarious in the house.

There were a host of fourth formers. Ichangi the lady’s man and with good looks to boot. Chelogoi a tall guy who reminded me of a panther ready to pounce, a Mwariga who was very different from his other famous bros in many ways. Lukalo who was a great inspiration in forcing me to develop and perfect my rugby tackling skills as early as first form. Choge a guy with a dark complexion who could make your life extremely dark if you ended up on the wrong side of him. A Gitata who loved to smile and went elsewhere for his fifth form (He had 2 other bros who passed through Kirk during my time).

My sincere apologies to those I forgot. It was such a long time ago…

Head of School Jinx

The office of head of school in Lenana in those days was akin to what the Kenyan presidency has always been. It attracted numerous candidates as well as pretenders to the throne, was shrouded in mystery and was an extremely powerful office for a mere student. Indeed the head of school had his own office up school although in my time it was barely furnished. Still it was on office up school which most teachers didn’t even have.

But what happens to Lenana heads of school after they leave? My careful analysis of numerous holders of the coveted office from the 70s is that they ride out into the sunset and oblivion. Whatever they end up doing, they mostly become underachievers in life. I am NOT saying that they end up failures but their achievements in later years hardly manage to live up to the larger than life office they held in their last year of school Why is this??? Why manage to achieve so much and then fade away or achieve much less in the real world? This is a mystery I have never managed to solve. In discussions with old boys of the school I have called this phenomenon “the head of school jinx.” For you to overcome a jinx you need to recognize its’ presence first. I suspect that most who have held this office will bear me out if they ever decide to open up and be candid enough about their own experiences.

The first head of school I saw was Ken Sagala in 1978. He had the unenviable task of breaking in a new headmaster which I believe he handled rather well under extremely difficult circumstances. I do not know what the issues were in 1977 leading up to his appointment but I could see in 1978 he must have had plenty of competition breathing down his neck and that says plenty about the man and what he achieved.

I had the privilege of playing rugby with Ken Sagala briefly in later years and pinched myself to fully come to the realization that I was playing the game with my former head of school.

Traditionally at the end of the year the head boy received the Old Yorkist Shield for achievement. Getting to head  of school is not easy and this is something that is fully deserved by any holder of the office as we shall see later in these Facebook memoirs. However once in a while another student surpasses these achievements and ends up getting the award and the head of school has to make do with an alternative headmaster’s award. 1978 was one such year. Edward Bisamunyu got the shield for achievement for his amazing and unprecedented work with the school choir in a year where as a student he filled in for a music teacher the school did not have.

It is also fascinating to note that many of those who failed to make it to head of school were devastated. Many recovered and used this disappointment to spur themselves to great achievements in the real world outside school where it really matters. Sadly others never recovered. And that is why this is one of the sections I am writing with lots of sensitivity and care. There is no denying that some of these wounds remain for decades and even lifetimes.

Campaign season at Lenana was hell for rabbles

Despite the hardships of first form the year was very eventful and there was plenty to learn and even analyze and so for me time flew and suddenly the end of the year was just a few weeks away and once again it was campaign season. Up for grabs were the positions of 10 heads of houses (school prefects) and the jewel of them all head of school. All school prefects had their tea in the prefects common room better known as “tower” and met with the headmaster weekly amongst a host of other privileges and responsibilities.

This time of the year was especially hard for rabbles. Certain candidates desperate to prove their worth always, always used the poor rabolis to try and attract attention to their suitability. They forgot the golden rule of any successful candidature to any office which is perception. How are you perceived? What image have you built over the last 6 years? In all my years at Lenana these last minute campaigns achieved very little if anything. But still they were there and first formers especially, were the ones on the receiving end. In the house people campaigning for head of house had to flex their muscles and up-school the “big four” were fiercely competing amongst themselves while trying to pretend they were cool and unconcerned. Just to jog your memory the big four were the 4 (sometimes 5) school perfects appointed in third term to learn the ropes from the outgoing school prefects and one out of them would end up being head of school the next year.

Working parties, round houses and every terrible punishment you could think of were the lot of rabbles in this last and most trying term of the year. The good thing is that it would give us plenty to laugh about when we returned for the first term of the new year to find that the most aggressive campaigners had failed to make it to office while those who hardly campaigned ended up at the very top.

1978 was an interesting year. I do not remember who the top four were but none of them were from Kirk which meant that the campaign for Kirk head of house 1979 went down to the wire which naturally was not fun for a rabble in the house. This was of course the time of the year when some very serious reading was going on for the final exams and so most of the bullies did not have that much free time to make our lives hell. But sadly where they let off the “campaigners” more than made up.

Personally I was curious to see who would be head of school in 1979. Clearly despite my many denials to myself and others the spirit of Changes was getting to me.

Ndau Kanyi

In the course of 1978 a new headmaster Ndau Kanyi arrived to take over from Maina “kung”. His arrival and some of the changes he wanted to make met with stiff resistance which culminated in a stand off with the seniors (mostly fifth and six formers) that year. Interestingly one of the issues had to do with rugby. I remember once we were in chapel and after the service he stood up to talk, mainly addressing the senior students. They jeered and booed back at him. As a rabble that was really exciting because visions of the school being shut down, at least for a while, started to present themselves to my mind.

I was only a rabble then and so I do not have the facts on what the issues were exactly. Maybe Bwana Gaitho who was a sixth former then (and who is very active in this forum) can help us out here. What I do know is that Kanyi slowed down and stopped to listen. Key attributes to any successful manager. Kanyi had very powerful contacts within the Kenya government that had the ears of the president and so I am certain he would have forced anything he wanted through. In later years I got to know Kanyi very well and appreciated his approach to the management of the school. He would always listen, even when he did not agree with what you had to say. He was also a very intelligent man who quickly soaked in the school traditions and got to respect them after that first encounter shortly after he arrived. The man had his faults of course but he did well to preserve the school as it had been for the years he was there (until 1984). The outcome was that he got results. The school consistently did well in national exams and was also a top performer in many other areas of activity.

One thing many people do not appreciate is the fact that with the old strict hierarchy system in place, a school strike was virtually impossible those days because all the students would need to agree. How would this happen when it was taboo to be friendly with your juniors. You had to respect your seniors at all times and basically you were supposed to have nothing to discuss. The 1978 incident was the closest thing to a strike there could ever be.

Mr Kanyi had a stunning wife who taught languages (Kiswahili and English) I believe. Sadly she never taught me so I never really got to know her well except for the few times we met when I visited the headmaster’s house in 1983.

Macharia Gaitho adds; Yes, I was in the group that protested against Mr Kanyi. We even marched around Brooklands. I don't exactly remember what the grouse was, but Mr Kanyi had come from Government Secretarial an wanted to change the school rules to introduce things we thought were rather girly. I think we disciplined him.
Ndegwa Ndiritu adds; The spark that lit the fire was his inviting himself to a sixth form society debate, or the entertainment thereafter, and asking the ladies to leave, totally embarrassing the boys in the process. Next morning the seniors refused to enter chapel for Sunday service until 'Wong' came to Kanyi's rescue.
Chris Kavila asked Ndegwa Ndiritu Thank you so much for your valuable input. I have to assume that he must have been briefed extensively by Wong on the dos and don'ts at Lenana because things changed after this incident. I have to ask, were any sixth formers victimized for this incident?
Ndegwa Ndiritu answered Cant recall any, after all it was more spontaneous than organised. In the mid nineties I had occasion to meet him in business, he was running an auctioneering firm, and on informing him I was his student in '78, he remarked that the class caused him the most pain.

Loud Mouthed Pretty Face

As I got busy getting involved in all kinds of house activities not everybody was cheering me on. One guy who was a year ahead of me whom I will simply call loud mouthed pretty face (LMPF) got very jealous early on. There would be many incidences (which I will mention later) including a time in later years when he called me into his study to warn me to stop being so active in the house. But the first time I was rudely awakened to this jealousy was in third term of first form.

We had gone to the same primary school with this guy and so he knew I was a useful soccer player and so he suggested that I join the Middle Colts school soccer team but when I attended their first practice I quickly realized that I would be much better off at a higher level and so the next day we had to go for school team practice I went and joined the Senior Colts which was the same team LMPF was playing for that year. He was not amused and warned me to slow down because
I was being way too ambitious. He threatened to give me a severe beating if I did not change my ways.

If LMPF ever gets to read this and recognizes himself I want him to know that I have forgiven him and do not harbor any ill feelings towards him. In fact he deserves a drink from me if I ever meet him because he helped shape me. Obstacles shape you and lift you to greater heights achieving what you would never have achieved had there been no opposition. Admittedly at the time I found him a pain in that place you know.

One day LMPF found me receiving a well deserved beating from a second former called Olando (I had borrowed his soccer boots but had lost them at Nairobi School when a Changes old boy called Otolo had borrowed them and failed to return them) and loudly started cheering him on. What really enraged me was the fact that on the first day I had arrived LMPF had promised to protect me. I didn’t want his protection, I just wanted him to leave me alone. That would never happen during the 5 long years we were in Lenana together.

I was not the only person who ended up on the wrong side of LMPF. His loud sarcastic laugh and piercing voice was well known to many… let me just leave it at that.

How my love affair with rugby started

Soccer was my first love but when I came to Lenana and was introduced to rugby everything changed. In those days all the other games were minor, rugby was THE GAME. Whenever Mean Maroon played at home everything else in Lenana usually shut down and most of the school was in attendance, even most of the subordinate staff. Little wonder than no other school in the country has produced such an endless belt of top class talent like Mean Maroon has over the years.

But I started my love affair with rugby in a rather interesting way. In 1978 we had extremely vicious bullies in Kirk. Rabbles in other houses just peed on themselves when they had to visit Kirk for whatever reason. But we rabbles in Kirk were so hardened that when we visited some houses during that dreaded round houses punishment early in the morning we found them a big joke. One such house was Lugard. Anyway I found that house rugby practice was an excellent opportunity to get my revenge
on some of these bullies. Whenever I saw some bully that I particularly disliked I would go in extra hard. This went rather well and gave me plenty of satisfaction until I encountered a guy called Lukalo. He was rather huge and well built and had a hand off that was more of a punch. I carelessly tried one of my tackles on him and ended up on the ground eating grass and with my head spinning as many stars flew past in all directions. Still this did not deter me and the next time I got an opportunity I went in very low and very hard and I would tell that he was angry because he shouted “you rabble if you injure me I will fix you.” I really didn’t care because I was going to get a beating later anyway usually for nothing else but just for being a rabble and so I treasured this moments when I would exert my revenge. This is how I developed my crash tackling, a skill that took me all the way to the Kenya national team. Looking back I will be forever grateful to Lukalo because the truth is that without him it would never have happened.

Nezi Wesonga

One of the first friends I made who was my senior was Nesbitt Wesonga whom we simply called “Nezi.” He was a year ahead of me in Kirk.

Nesbitt was very ambitious and already knew many stories about the sports legends of Lenana who had come before us. One name kept on popping up again and again in his stories—Jacko Omaido. I even believe Nezi’s run on the pitch ended up having many similarities to Jacko’s very famous one. I did not know it at the time but I would later not only see the legend himself in action but would practice with him at Harlequins and then even tour with him out of the country at least twice. Others he mentioned were Nick Kado an extraordinary full back who was a prominent Tuskers player when he was still a school boy and was one of the most powerful and respected head of schools ever. Nezi is also the person from whom I first heard of the name Pare Mukora, one of the most stylish fly halves Lenana has ever birthed who was also a great goal kicker and played a major role in Mean Maroon’s amazing Eric Shirley win in 1977. These stories from Nesbitt so early on are what triggered so much ambition in me to be up there with the very best and just maybe join the legends of Lenana one day.

Later I would go up school and stare at the old photos of some of these stars telling myself that they went through worst and there was no reason why I could not do the same. As coincidence would have it my dad later moved to Parklands when I was in second form where Nesbitt was my neighbor and I occasionally visited him at his home during school holidays. I saw his big secret soccer practice technique that gave him such extra-ordinary control of the ball as a sweeper. It was a simple big wall that he kicked the ball against at different tricky angles.

We played together with Nesbitt in many teams over the years until I could instinctively know what he was going to do in a critical moment of a game long before he did it which would always give our team the edge. It all culminated in the legendary 1982 unbeaten Prescott team. Much has been said about that side but it is rather unfair that everybody so far has ignored or forgotten to mention the role played by the skipper in moulding that amazing winning outfit. Nesbitt was always very cool under extra ordinary pressure and knew how to get the very best from his players. He was especially good at keeping the team’s concentration when we were ahead and relaxation was setting in or when we were abut to despair after things went wrong. I can still hear his “come on guys.”

Nesbitt was crazy about Lingala music especially in the early years and after setting the table as a second former on serving duty he would belt out the Lingala hits of the time. His great looks also served him well during social functions where despite his shyness he would always manage to attract plenty of female attention. I really envied him there.

The Nairobi International Show

Weeks before the annual Nairobi International show you could sense the excitement building up quickly in the school. It was all that the second formers talked about in third term during the compulsory after lunch siesta before going back up-school for the afternoon lessons.

At first it really puzzled me why there was so much excitement over something that would happen only on one day, the Saturday when all students were given leave out to attend the show. I found it hard to imagine the boys trooping around all the different mainly boring agricultural stands. Later I was to discover that all the action was always centred around just a few stands, actually about two where most guys would troop in to drink themselves silly.

All kind of elaborate plans and operations with military precision were dreamed up and executed. For example some guys would report to school by 6:30 go in for supper and answer to their names in the roll call that followed but then sneak out and go back to the show ground shortly after. Of course it helped that the show grounds were fairly close to the school at Jamuhuri Park. In chapel the following day (Sunday) after the show you would always notice the empty seats as well as the red blood shot eyes.

In first form I saw the heavy price many paid for the sake of the show. The Kirk housemaster then, Mr Foreman suspended at least two boys in 1978 over their activities during the show. Sadly I can’t remember who they were or what forms they were in, but it seems people never learnt or were prepared to pay whatever price necessary to have their fun during the show. Interestingly I never went to the show myself in all the six years I was at Lenana preferring instead to take in a movie in town or visit relatives within the city instead. I am told I missed a lot.

Science lab challenges and Miss R causes excitement

Obiri of James was a brilliant guy in the science labs and was patient enough to help me out in the early days when I made a great effort to try and be like Einstein. The truth is that those science labs caused terror in most boys and only a few were comfortable in that environment of test tubes and chemicals with strange names. Probably the only skill I developed there was the ability to look like I was understanding what was being said. I got so good at nodding my head occasionally and looking intelligent so much so that I fooled many teachers.

Despite Obiri’s best efforts by second form it was clear that I was fighting a losing battle with the sciences. My dad whom I later discovered had had similar challenges in his school days was not amused at my science grades. In retrospect these subjects unlike the arts required a great deal of consistency and if you fell asleep in a class or two you were lost forever. With all that was going on in first form and with my life-long habit of leaving things to the last minute I was doomed right from the beginning. Fortunately I was okay in mathematics which with the art subjects ensured that I was consistently way above average in class.

But there were a few times in first form when there was excitement in the labs. A drop-dead gorgeous biology teacher called Miss Rarienda turned up towards the end of first form. She just caused the boys to go bonkers. I remember some of the bolder guys fondling her breasts in class (I kid you not). She had a figure to die for and was every school boys’ wettest dream. Personally I wasn’t brave enough to fondle her but I admit she also had an effect on me. She lived somewhere close to Block 5 and Mumia house and there would be numerous cars parked outside her house on weekends which jealously angered many of us. My most memorable Biology class with Miss Rarienda was one that touched on the reproduction system. I have never seen guys ask so many questions. Some were just outrageous like; excuse me madam, could you please explain more about how the male XXXX is inserted into the female XXXXX? I don’t understand. LOL!!!

Willy And Saturday Night Movies

There are a few things that brightened up life in first form at least for me.

There was Willy Angawa. Deputy head of house Kirk and the only man I met who could inspire even a harassed rabble. He took a keen interest in everything and even noticed my interest in writing and publishing very early on in first form and encouraged me to pursue what he saw as a great talent. He would talk to us rabbles at length about the house spirit and how we should give our all to everything we did. It was not all talk because Willy was quite a character himself. Later I discovered that he was a key member of the legendary 1977 Eric Shirley rugby winning side where he thrived on taking on opposition that was more than two times his weight and much taller. He played wing forward. Willy was also the main brains behind our house play in 1978 a political satire (with a huge cast including yours truly who was part of the crowd) that swept the board in the inter-house
drama festival that year winning best play amongst other accolades.

It was whispered that Willy had missed being made head of house by a whisker. Over the years I went on to see many people in the same position who chose to “switch off” after they missed being made head of house or head of school, not Willy just like he was in the thick of every major move in the scrum he was also in the thick of everything that happened in Kirk. The real inspiration behind Kirk as a house, his influence was felt for many years after he left.

But it was NOT only inspiration that he imparted. There were times he dabbled in outright brainwashing. For instance he would get us to stand in a group as rabbles in Pree's comm and repeat for hours on end the simple line; “we shall not sneak because we are men.”

Still when all is said I owe Willy a lot including my great love for rugby and whatever leadership qualities I may have picked up. Hardly surprising that I later learnt that Willy is actually Welsh and you guys know that rugby is a religion in that country and not just a mere game.

Then there was Saturday night movies in the school hall. I have always loved movies even before I went to Lenana but at the school they took on a whole new meaning. For 90 minutes or so it was possible to escape (if it was a good movie) and forget all your troubles as a rabble and laugh or cry or get really excited with some characters on celluloid. It was something to look forward to the whole week. During my time they showed many great movies from horrors to the action genre covering golden oldies like the original James Bond 007. Whoever picked the movies knew what they were doing because we were very rarely bored.

Daniel Wilson Added;
Hey Chris, thanks for these retrospectives. Your memory is still good I can see. And well written too. RE: the movies, Saturday night was a night to look forward to (adding to the excitement the prospect of going home for a short but sweet visit the next day), and yes we did see some great movies. What was also amusing about Saturday nights was the number of students who risked their school careers by venturing into the school hall after a trip to 'across' or 'Dago'. The smell of Murat/Chum was a dead giveaway from those who couldn't contain themselves as the School Pre's patrolled the hall for miscreants/lawbreakers. Not to mention those that we found passed out on their beds when we returned to our dorms (who often also had deposited the contents of their stomachs all over the bathrooms). Speaking of horror movies, the most gripping movie I can remember was "The Omen", which scared the heck out of me and kept me up that Saturday night, wondering what the world was coming to. :)

My same year housemates

When you live with somebody in the same house in a school for 6 years or 4 years you are bound to get to know them pretty well. The truth is that whether you like it or not they shape you into who you end up becoming. I have to be grateful to the guys responsible for who I am because despite everything I am proud of the person I have become.

Aliker: In the early days he would often break into song to express his feelings. Coming in from a rather tough final exam paper in fourth form he sang “I did my best but I guess my best wasn’t good enough…” Most will remember the famous song where those lyrics came from but Aliker’s best was of course more than good enough because he easily returned to fifth form. Kirk lost big when he had to leave for the UK late in fifth form before we got to sixth. Shared our love for rugby in common and he was a key member of the legendary ’82 side but didn’t appear in the photo because he had already left.

Gatumbi (RIP): Chris was a great guy. Very sensitive and so you had to understand him to get along with him. He gave me a lift in his motorbike all the way to Lenana when we sneaked back to school to check our O-level results. It was good news for both of us.

Busolo: I never told anybody this but he always reminded me of my late mother because he was so typical lunje. Had his own very memorable sense of cynical humour.

Gichira: The cross country king. I was determined to be an all rounder and was a member of the house cross country team for a number of years. And so I tried several times to beat him. I never managed. The philosopher is how I remember him best and one hilarious article he penned meant for the school magazine describing the futility of what boys endeavored to do while at Lenana is still on my mind. What I liked best about his cynism was that it always brought things back into clear perspective

Mbugua: Part of the 82 rugby squad and appears on the photo. A lady’s man when we went out for debates at chox, boma etc. He always seemed to lazily and effortlessly make it to the top 5 of any class he was in right from first form.

Wangai (RIP): We were best of friends most of the time. He loved Kirk and was a work horse around the house and that is why when I stepped down as head of house in ’83 and the headmaster asked me to name a suitable replacement, his was the first name that came to mind. Never mind the drama that followed when house master “Pee” Odhiambo decided to come up with his own candidate to “show me who was boss.” Although my candidate prevailed, at the end of it all it only served to seriously damage my already precarious relationship with Pee’s candidate who to this day must feel that I hated him and that my decision was personal.

Githere: Loved to crack jokes and had the most interesting stories after school holidays. Those tales mostly held us all spellbound and were really something. They made some of us envy him and his ability to get into the kind of situations that every red-blooded school boy can only dream about.

Muriuki: Bruce Lee and Bob Marley were his heroes. Jude introduced me to Marley’s kind of reggae which I still can’t do without to this day; Bad Card, Redemption Song, One Love, Three Little Birds etc are some of the great songs I still enjoy to this day that remind me of him. I of course forgave him for laughing at me on the very first day when I put a knife into my mouth whilst struggling with that spaghetti stuff.

Ngovi: This is the man who gave me all my nicknames. Started out very early in first form by writing at the back of my rack sack (without my knowledge or consent) the words; “Man of Baha” when I wasn’t sure that it referred to a person’s sexual inclination. Caused a lot of laughter one day when a fourth former asked me if I knew what it meant and I told them that it was somebody who was behind the times. Jaha given to me in conjunction with Aliker, stuck. Slade as we called him was a stickler for the strict Lenana hierarchy system. One incident in 6th when I was about to lose the election for soccer captain to a junior comes to mind. I had already been captain the previous year when I was in 5th and some sixth formers in the team were out to ensure that I was not re-elected. Slade simply stared them down and told them in no uncertain terms to come back to their senses.

Ngoloma
This guy was brave and confronted sixth form prefects on the first day of school refusing to wear the shoes they had so kindly borrowed for him instead of the sports shoes he wanted to go up-school with which would have landed him in serious trouble with school prefects. Never really fitted into the Lenana system until he left in 4th never to return or be seen again. I wonder what became of him, maybe Bwana Facebook will help solve that mystery one of these fine days.

Ochieng
Some bookworm. I remember him by his unique ears. Hated all sports with a passion but was always very much at home in a Chem or physics lab where people like me were usually more than a little lost.

Okero
Another legendary Kirk bookworm, the difference being that George was much more “human” and social with the rest of us. His big passion was French. We would sit in the class as he and the French teacher would have a discussion back and forth as the rest of us would be left marveling having no idea what they were talking about.

Gikandi
Stone had a very difficult time fitting into Lenana in the early days but in the end has proved that he is Lenana “damu” if his current activity in reviving the school is anything to go by. I love this guy because he has never been a pretender unlike so many Changerians and he has never changed all these years. The kind of man I would trust to give my hand to when on the edge of cliff and be sure that he would never push me instead.

My very first day at "Changes"

My first day at Lenana reporting in the evening and two familiar faces were more than a little reassuring. We had landed in Kirk with Chris Ngovi (later to be widely known as Slade) and then there was Freddie Ochieng who was already a second former. I went to the same primary school with both (Lavington Primary).

I had no idea what to expect but Slade kept on reminding me to brace myself for some serious bullying. Freddie introduced me to the other second formers who already looked menacing enough. Especially “Jackman” who clearly just couldn’t wait to get his hands on the new arrivals. But what was even more reassuring was the arrival of J. Nabwera all the way from Lugard, just to welcome me. He was a sixth former and after exchanging some brief pleasantries he went into that room that I would learn to terribly dread in the next few days—the Pres’ comm. Yep that place where sixth formers in the house had their tea. I have no idea what he said to them (which I hope to find out one day soon) but I guess it had something to do with the unfortunate family events that had preceded my admission to “Changes” and how they were bound to affect me emotionally (just speculating).

First formers on the first day generally look very confused and I guess that word describes me pretty well on that memorable first day especially when we went into the dining hall and were served with spaghetti which must have been deliberate to smoke out those of us who didn’t have a clue what it was (LOL, just kidding). My problem was that I usually ate the stuff with a spoon at home and so I had major problems using a fork and a knife and once or twice put the knife inside my mouth which proved to be extremely entertaining to those on the table. Actually there was loud laughter all round. Including from the first former seated opposite me whom I felt should have been more sympathetic, Eddie Memba Muriuki who expertly rolled the stuff around his fork like they had been taught at Nairobi primary.

Julius Weche added;

Hee hee... That is why us guys from Nairobi Primary had no problems on the first meal at Lenana School. But it was terrible for those who came from up-country, who had never even held a fork or knife. Can you believe that the current kids in Lenana do NOT even use fork and knife? I was describing this to Brian, a current form 3 student and he thought I was lying. Suffice it to say I now have to teach him how to use these utensils at home... Thanks, "Jaha".

I think it happened over 10 years ago! Even the process of laying table and many other cultural things we did - that have helped us be who we are today are GONE. It is painful being a father in Changes nowadays - bearing in mind what privileges we enjoyed then.

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