By 1980 I had already seen two seasons of rugby at Lenana and was determined to wear the maroon kit ASAP. The previous year I had played for senior colts and so in 1980 I was supposed to start training with the first 30.
I plotted my move early before even the term started and decided that the only way I could do it with such major stars as Madara and Steak Ondiek amongst others on the back line was to switch to the scrum. I was big enough and I felt that I could learn quickly.
Davies had left the previous year and Owuor “sodium” had taken over as rugby master. However with his limited knowledge of rugby the student officials took charge of training. Head of School Andy Mwenesi was handling the pack and Madara was with the backs. And so at the first practice I headed over to the forwards. Mwenesi took one look at me and said; “You’re not a forward, go join the backs.”
I did not have the courage to defy the head of school and so I meekly trotted back to the backs and my fate as a regular second XV player. In retrospect it seems that I had already stood out as a back in house matches and at that level a rookie trying to learn how to be a forward was unacceptable.
But even if I was not in the 1st XV I quickly learnt that there were other advantages of training with the very best in the school. One day during that second term, Mwenesi walked into our third form class to find us making a racket. There was pin drop silence the minute he walked in and our hearts stopped beating.
Mwenesi, like a number of head boys before him was greatly feared and respected. The crash hall would empty in seconds the minute he was sighted around the music school coming up school from Mumia. Everybody knew he was no nonsense, although we heard he was pretty popular and a regular guy before he was made head boy.
He started to walk away and from a minute we thought that it was all over. And then the dreaded words came out of his mouth.
“School pres comm tomorrow morning.”
The rest of the day and the next morning were all spoilt because naturally we could think of nothing else but terror at the tower. Our rabble days were over but it was certainly not the end of trouble at Lenana.
There was no door to get into the school pres comm. On the third floor of the administration block. But the procedure those days was that you knocked with your head on the wall until you were told to come in. Since we were a whole class only one person knocked and we were all ordered to get in. We then knelt down and waited for school prefects to finish their tea and the famous “triangles”. So that thye could deal with us. The waiting alone was pure torture. If you are going to be hanged isn’t it better thye get t over with quickly instead of keeping you waiting?
As I was kneeling, Mwenesi walked over to me still holding his tea mug. “You Kavila, go away,” he barked. I quickly got up, not believing my luck and got the hell out of tower. Behind my back I heard him tell one other guy from Mumia who was not a rugby player to also go away.
I believe the rest of the guys were put on working parties and a few unlucky ones who had dirty socks or something received a few slaps.
I really began to love this game of rugby which already seemed to get me out of tight spots off the pitch.
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