Part XVI: Big cash politics

As we waited for the decision on who was going to be the Kirk head of house Victor Wangai and I reflected on just how wrong our grand plan had gone. Our studies in Kirk house faced each other and we talked a lot. He was in the study that had been occupied by Nesbit Wesonga the previous year.

Actually late in 1982 when we both knew that there was a good chance (25% at the very least because there were 4 school prefects announced) of me being HOS, Wangai had decided to go for the Sixth Form Society chairman’s post. At the time it looked like a piece of cake and Victor was very excited about the idea of Kirk dominating things at the top. We would then have a head of house from Kirk and that would bring the tally to 3 powerful Kirk guys up school.

Chairman of sixth form society in those days was NOT a small man. For starters he shared in the triangles in tower at tea break with the school prefects and the headmaster frequently looked to him for advice on various issues involving sixth formers. That was apart from all the high profile social functions he was in charge of including the sixth formers day where the school would be flooded by tons of mostly giggling school girls and all kinds of crazy things would happen.

Now this is where the politics got really ugly because unlike school prefects who were appointed, this was an elective post. Sixth formers needed to be swayed to vote for you. Victor planned his campaign and on paper he was definitely going to win hands down. But his opponent had other ideas. His opponent who seemed to be a minnow at the time was one Kiprono Kittony.

I had known Kiprono Kittony since our primary school days at Lavington primary school. In 1982 he had hosted members of the 1st XV in the expansive family farm in Kitale when we went there to play West Kenya XV. He had even driven me around town in the family Volvo. Victor and I were puzzled because his campaign seemed to be so low key. Was he really serious about wanting to win, we wondered. It looked so obvious that we were going to win. On election day Kiprono shocked us by comfortably winning the election. We were very puzzled until some fascinating stories starting coming in. Apparently shortly before election day Kiprono had hosted quite a number of very influential sixth formers for an all-expenses paid plus pocket money night out at the Carnivore, Nairobi. Now in those days a night out at Cani, as we used to call it was just it. And if you wanted to convince a sixth former to do virtually anything for you, that was just the place to take them. He had outsmarted us, albeit with the kind of campaign funds we could never match and so he became sixth form society chairman 1983.

In the end Kiprono’s ascension to sixth form society chairman proved to be a blessing in disguise for me. We consulted frequently and he would sometimes tell me what sixth formers in block 1 and block 4 were saying which proved to be extremely useful especially when the things got really ugly for me (as I will describe shortly).

The headmaster announced Victor Wangai as head of house Kirk and Pekos was livid. For the rest of first term he was hardly ever seen in Kirk house and opted to send messages instead. Even the weekly pocket money which had always been disbursed by the house master was sent with different messengers giving out the cash. I tried to stay out of his way as much as possible and in his Geography classes I moved several rows away from the front.

To naïve observers who were not interested at looking at the saga more deeply this was confirmation as to how powerful the head of school really was. But more significantly the repercussions of this incident spread far and wide. A small clique of house masters closed ranks against school prefects and “the power” the headmaster was giving to the boys. Apparently Pekos was very influential and very easily able to incite people. This development was going to come back to haunt school prefects shortly.

Personally, Victor’s appointment made a huge difference for me. I now felt much more confident and secure knowing that whatever happened, I had someone watching my back. He even proved to be a great school prefect so much so that we even ended up having a discussion with the headmaster once that was inspired by Victor’s capabilities where he said that it was unfortunate that the school frequently overlooked very capable leaders in appointing school prefects and wondered what could be done to improve the system for identifying students with leadership capabilities.

I had only been HOS for slightly more than a week and yet so much had happened already. What I did not know was that there was much more to come. I was going to remain pretty much in the boiler room for the whole of first term 1983.

On the surface of things the other school prefects gave me the support I needed to be HOS but deep down I knew that the Lugard incident was not forgotten. I also knew that a section of the school prefects were of the view that had the Lugard incident not happened things would have been very different and I would never have made it to HOS. From what I discovered later nothing could have been further from the truth. But then in politics the truth hardly matters and is mostly irrelevant. It can never overshadow perception which is everything.

Part XV: My first big mistake

In all my years in Lenana I had never seen the inside of the head of school’s office. Not even when I was a school prefect in fifth form. It was situated right next to the school pres' comm (tower) with big letters above the door; Head of school.

Once or twice the previous year I had seen Alai (HOS ’82) step into his office but he always quickly shut the door behind him. A few hours after my appointment was announced I took a good look at it for the first time and I have to say I was very disappointed. Maybe my expectations had been way too high. All that was in the clean sizeable room was a creaking old swivel chair (that probably dated back to 1949) and a small desk. Even my room/study back in Kirk house was much better furnished. I had been told that a few of my predecessors had furnished the head of school’s office at their own expense. I wasn’t going to do that, besides I had no such funds.

I sat down on the head of school’s humble chair to collect my thoughts. I had always imagined that when and if I ever sat on this chair the feeling that would rule would be that of triumph. But today I felt nothing of the sort. I was worried and almost feeling overwhelmed by the office already and the responsibilities I imagined came with it. The biggest worry on my mind was the Lugard incident (described earlier) that had happened in late 1982. Something told me that there would be repercussions from it.

Looking back now I should have grabbed that moment to do some serious thinking and planning ahead. George Mwangi head of Thomson and senior school prefect in 1982 had kept telling us that a school prefect in Lenana was as powerful as they decided they wanted to be. I had not grasped the full meaning of his words although I thought I did. What he meant was that you were as powerful as you allowed your intellect to make you. Leadership is not a joke and even if you are the leader (chairman) of a cattle dip in a remote village in the middle of nowhere it is not a joke. This is because you are dealing with people and people will always be people. Intellect is key in dealing with people and the treachery that is human nature everywhere.

And so rather than dwelling on my feelings and fears I should have started engaging my intellect pronto and right away. I didn’t and predictably I walked right into a trap and my first serious mistake which should have been avoidable.

Traditionally (at least in my days) it was the prerogative of the head of school to decide whether he needed a head of house or not. All heads of school since 1978 had exercised that option except Andy Mwenesi in 1980 and Mwangi Gitau in 1981 (both from Mumia house). I am sure that they had their own good reasons however my thinking was that with all the looming thunderstorms I could sense I needed somebody to focus on being head of house. Besides I was involved in quite a number of extremely time consuming activities apart from rugby and soccer, like the school play for instance. In fifth form I directed a play written by my close Kirk friend Alfred Odindo (who had left in 1980) and in sixth form I wrote and directed an original script; “Stop the train I want to get off.”

It was a no brainer that there was no way I was going to manage without a good head of house in Kirk. Besides there were numerous administrative things and small details a head of house had to take care of in those days and so if I took up both responsibilities there would even be less time left for my books which were supposed to take priority over everything else.

I love Mario Puzo’s "Godfather" the book and the movies because they teach a lot about life and leadership. In the movie version there is a scene where Don Corleone heading several powerful mafia families is being dangerously circled by his enemies and during a meeting with a particularly deadly one to discuss the Don’s help with the police and judges in the illegal drugs business his eldest son Sonny opens his mouth to air his personal views. The Don is furious and later in private screams at him; “never ever again let people know what you are thinking.” An extremely valuable tip for any leader. When people know what you are thinking before you have fully implemented your idea or put your plan in motion there are many ways they can trip you up and your plan as well. Also when you talk too much about what’s on your mind people can second guess you every time and bring about all kinds of chaos to your leadership.

Back to my situation. In my view I felt that it was only natural that the then deputy head of house Victor Wangai (RIP) be elevated to head of house. I discussed the issue with the appointing authority and he informed me that he would make a decision soon. But I then went and opened my big mouth and blubbered out my intentions to all and sundry. Word reached the Kirk house master Odhiambo Pekos. Until then we had had a very tight great relationship. You will remember from earlier chapters that we had worked closely together to bring the Starehe cup back to Lenana in '82 and besides he was my Geography teacher for whom I had great respect.

He called me one day after a meal in the block 2 dining hall and told me that I was making a big mistake. He explained that his candidate for head of house was much more qualified. I believe he used the word “qualified.”

Admittedly Victor Wangai had been a very close friend for years. He had even invited me to his garden estate home on several Sunday outings. But that was beside the point here and I don’t think my judgement was clouded in any way. He had already been appointed deputy head of house. Why muddy the waters by introducing another candidate above him which would even involve the embarrassment of him changing studies with the said candidate? Besides Victor was an extremely efficient guy who had done and continued to do a lot for the house and was in my view best qualified even if we ignored the fact that he was already deputy head of house.

I think the pressures of being HOS were beginning to weigh down on me because instead of just keeping quiet or pretending to agree with him I started loudly giving him the reasons why he was wrong. Now Pekos was an extremely emotional person and as I was to discover later he had had a run in with Victor and was determined to use this opportunity to put him down by getting somebody else appointed head of house of Kirk above him.

I believe there were several eyewitnesses who heard the ugly argument that went on inside the Block 2 dining hall and Pekos knew that. And so what would have been a small issue became very public with onlookers waiting to see whose appointee would make it. That would clearly answer the argument (as I heard somebody in Kirk put it) of who was more powerful; the head of school or the Kirk house master. It was a very unfair and silly argument because the two offices were very different with different responsibilities and expectations. It is like asking who is more powerful a county governor or a DC? But even worse the whole drama messed up my relationship with Peko's candidate because naturally he felt that I had something against him.

In any case the decision came a few days later and complicated my situation further giving me even more pressure when I least needed it.

Part XIV: Tradition and more politics

Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing,

Thanks for mercies past receive;
Pardon all, their faults confessing;
Time that’s lost may all retrieve;
May Thy children
Ne’er again Thy Spirit grieve.

Let Thy father-hand be shielding
All who here shall meet no more;
May their seed-time past be yielding
Year by year a richer store;
Those returning,
Make more faithful than before.

The hymn sang often meant different things to different people at the end of the year. Rabbles celebrated the end of a gruelling year while looking forward to the holidays like never before. Fourth formers celebrated the uncertainty of their future and sixth formers celebrated the end of their school days arguably the happiest days of one’s entire life. We fifth form school prefects celebrated the uncertainty of what the new year (1983) would bring under our brand new leadership.

1982 was brought to a close in the same fashion other school years had been concluded since the school was founded in 1949. The hymn “Lord dismiss us with thy blessing” ended the last chapel service of the year and the headmaster Ndau Kanyi and school chaplain Norman Dodman symbolically led the school prefects out of the chapel bidding them farewell as they were released out into the world. There were two processions of school prefects on the two aisles in the school chapel. On the right side of the chapel Head of school John Alai followed by a handful of prefects and on the other side of the chapel was Spike Ogot deputy head of school followed by another group of prefects. Perfect order, military precision.

It had been a great year with many achievements including both the Prescott schools rugby cup and the Starehe founders day cup both of which I played a role in. Both had not been to Lenana for decades. Just goes to confirm that when you have your leadership right, achievements and new heights will inevitably follow. And here I am talking about the leadership of the school prefects of 1982, because everything starts with discipline. Great capable guys they were and bound to be remembered for many years to come.

The four of us 5th form school prefects seated at the back of the chapel had the perfect view of this traditional ceremony for the first time since we joined the school 5 years earlier. Theoretically we were now in charge.

There was no handing over ceremony, no briefing or tips to help us meet the challenges of the coming year. We were very much on our own and we would just have to make the best of it just like our many predecessors had. Hopefully the last 5 or so very eventful weeks had given us enough preparation. In any case we would find out soon enough.

The school holidays passed swiftly and we were back in the school dining hall for the first supper of the year 1983. Traditionally the head of house for the following year was announced during house suppers at the end of the previous year. In Block 2 there had been no such announcements in 1982 since it was assumed that both Alloys Obiero (Mitchell) and myself having been named school prefects already would automatically be heads of our respective houses.

It was a strange feeling seated where only a few weeks earlier Sam Olago had sat. The table was not filled up yet since fifth formers were yet to report back. It felt even stranger walking into Sam Olago’s private study without knocking. It now belonged to me.

We shared the usual small talk folks share at the beginning of a new term mostly happy to see each other again. I retired early not entirely sure who I would be in this new school year. A senior school prefect? Deputy head of school? Or… perhaps Head of school? I had no way of knowing. Neither was I confident. There had been nothing to give me any sign that I would be HOS. I tried my best to prepare myself for any possible disappointment and to accept whatever I had coming.

The four of us entered the assembly hall at different times and took our seats at the back where school prefects always sat.

Why lie, I was extremely tense. I could only imagine what Obonyo would say in his next “political analysis” in Kadi’s art class if I missed being head of school. This time I was sure I would not find any humour in his jokes.

I looked at my 3 colleagues and something told me that one of them had already been called aside by the headmaster and given some advance knowledge that they were HOS. Naturally I would give them my full support, I told myself. I tried to look at their faces for any tell tale signs like that of a cat that had just secretly drunk some milk, but could find none.

The headmaster walked in and we all stood up as usual. I was so preoccupied with my own feelings and dread but the truth is that most of the people in that hall must have also been tense (and not just my 3 colleagues) all waiting to hear the most important announcement of the beginning of the year. All eyes were on Ndau Kanyi.

“The head of school is… and I hope that you are going to give him all the support, Kavila.”

I stood up in a daze and sat down too quickly for anybody who might not know who I was to take a good look. There was applause in the hall and most of it was coming from the rabbles. Hardly surprising because in those days word about seniors who shunned bullying usually spread fast. Still, I was not the only one popular with rabbles. At least one other colleague of mine was just as popular with juniors. He was named deputy head of school. This was of course my great friend Tony Maleche. Naturally all this would change in the coming months as we asserted our authority.

There was no time to analyse what had happened and especially the whys. My mind was focused on fully meeting my new responsibilities and not letting down the school and especially the administration which had shown much more confidence in me than I had in myself. I remember that day like it was yesterday and no thoughts about the honour that had come to Kirk crossed my mind, like they should have.

But allow me to analyse here what had happened shortly before this day based on stuff that I was to find out in the coming months and some I was even destined to know years later and long after I had left Lenana.

There had been very strong opposition to my being named head of school which mostly came from a section of the class of 1982 school prefects. One senior school prefect even booked an appointment to see the headmaster to discuss the matter and expressed his strong opposition to my possible appointment.

A few senior house masters also had strong doubts about me although some of them were backing their own horses and this probably clouded their judgement on the issue. Looking back now I have to admit that some of their reasons were justified. Prominent school prefects in the class of 1982 felt that I did not have enough confidence for the high office and they were absolutely right. The headmasters' statement just before naming me now makes plenty of sense. “I hope that you are going to give him all the support,” he had said.

But the truth is that I also had some very strong backers who felt that nobody deserved the honour more than I did. In all my years at Lenana I had shown great respect to teachers (that’s just me) and when others looked for every opportunity to put them down, I never did. It paid off big time I am sure because 2 or 3 of these teachers who had taught me were house masters.

But by far the biggest “political” issue in deciding the HOS 1983 was academics. The headmaster and a sizeable number of house masters who had been in Lenana long enough were convinced that some previous head boys and school prefects had not performed as well as they should have in their final national exams because the office went to their heads. Some school prefects had even failed miserably because their being prefects took priority over their books. I really can’t blame them because school prefects had immense powers in those days and power tends to go to the head pretty quickly. It can happen to anybody.

Now get me right. I am NOT saying I was exceptionally intelligent and I never topped any class. But neither was I exceptionally daft. I had done reasonably well in my fourth form and had consistently continued to do well most notably in third term of fifth form (which I am told was analysed carefully for all HOS candidates).

Now like most fifth formers I was NOT reading hard in 5th form. I was just lucky that English Literature was something I enjoyed immensely and it almost came naturally without too much effort on my part. Mostly because I knew even then that it would play an important role in my life later. Geography was a subject I had always liked and besides it was taught by my house master and soccer master Odhiambo Pekos. Dave Anderson (the rugby master) taught me economics and so I had no option but to pay attention and to do well in his classes. Fine art you already know the story, I was limping badly but then fine art is not the kind of subject where you need to allocate time to read and so it cannot have been relevant in deciding the HOS.

I found out all this shocking info from teachers I befriended while in Lenana and whom I could meet for a regular drink with many years after I left the school.

And the truth is this information floored me. After all the campaign and anxiety it finally came down to our performance in class and most notably our third term 5th form end of term report card. Wow!!!

The coming weeks and months were to test me to my very limits and put me through experiences that were a first in my life.

Part XIII: Hilarious political analysis in art class

Somebody had advised me to take up art as a fourth subject to increase my points tally and I went to see Kadi early in 5th form. She asked a lot of questions but finally agreed. Later I was to realize just how lucky I was because there were other prominent fifth formers who had the same idea but were firmly denied the opportunity.

We were in the same class with guys like Gerald Walker of Mitchell, Chege and Obonyo of Speke. We would frequently find ourselves in the same room with sixth formers like Ombura and Murungi of CF. Those two guys were such talented artists that they made me feel completely out of place because admittedly I was not a paintbrush guy.

The whole point of taking art was the fact that there were a number of papers in the final A-level exam that did not require too much artistic talent and besides Kadi was a prominent member of the national art examiners in those days. And so it was a sneaky way of getting an extra principal and some extra valuable points which would come in handy in the competitive rush to get into campus.

There was of course a price to pay. Kadi would drive me as hard as she drove the other guys and she had no qualms about embarrassing anybody in front of rabbles. In those tough times I have Gerald Walker from our year to thank. He was the top artist in our lot and would frequently get Kadi doing uuuuuhs and aaaaahs of delight which was extremely rare to achieve under her critical eye. Gerald would help me out when the going got ugly with Kadi and I remember one particularly difficult challenge we had been given to do an abstract painting (which incidentally was Obonyo’s specialty) that had me in serious problems.

But what I remember most about those art sessions were the “political analysis” sessions provided mainly by Obonyo and Chege. The whole thing was of course delivered with plenty of sarcastic jokes that were hilarious even when I was the butt of the jokes. We would all be working quietly in the room when Obonyo would suddenly say something like; “Kavila I see you have intensified your campaigns for head of school, the way you are campaigning somebody would think you are after Kanyi’s job… slow down Jahaa..” Naturally everybody would burst out laughing which would attract Kadi’s attention all the way at the front of the class and she would come into the room and look around suspiciously and make some remark that would cause even more laughter. Chege’s humour was quieter but just as effective and his one liners would sometimes have me in tears of laughter. Walker just laughed, that crazy infectious laugh of his that was closer to a tee hee than a real laugh. We all had a lot of fun in art class, I tell you.

But on the political battle front it was no laughing matter. Looking back now I know that all four of us wanted to be HOS and naturally we all had our different tactics. Here I can only talk about mine.

Even as naïve as I was at the time I knew that historically those who had earlier had brothers who had been school prefects started out as front runners. Two of us had and I was not one of them and so I knew that I was starting out with that big disadvantage. Apart from what I had achieved in games, which some of my colleagues had also equalled, I knew I had to come up with something extra.

Matters were made more difficult for me by the 1982 prefects who were influential enough that year to have some say. I have always had a gift of sensing things and what people are feeling towards me and I could sense that most of them felt very strongly that I was not up to the office. I was to be proved dramatically right late in 1983 (I shall talk about that later). But even before that my mentor Sam Olago hinted regularly without betraying the trust of collective responsibility he had to his fellow prefects. One thing I have to say about Sam is that he was determined that the honor come to Kirk which had not happened for well over a decade. He was a real Kirk patriot.

I decided that I was going to use the few opportunities during the meetings with the headmaster to raise issues that I felt would attract the right kind of attention I wanted. Something that was of concern to him as a manager of the school. I zeroed in on the water problem.

Now in those days we had an interesting water problem. Block 2 and one other block I don’t quite remember never had a shortage of water but the rest of the school and especially block 5 (Mumia and James) used to have such serious shortages that many seniors would come to Block 2 regularly just to shower. Guys in lower forms wouldn’t dare because Kirk was known to be a house of serious bullies who would have no qualms about embarrassing you even if you were in third or fourth form. And so I guess our neighboring house Mitchell had many more showering visitors than we did.

And so in one school prefects meeting with Kanyi when we got to the any-other-business segment I spoke and trying my best to keep my voice calm suggested that if houses that had an abundance of water could quit wasting it and maybe we also tried a kind of rationing programme houses that were in need would get a little more water.

For some technical reason whose details I don’t quite remember the rationing idea was not possible but Mr Kanyi jumped on the idea of a campaign to cut down on wastage.

I have to admit that even after his response I was still not sure whether or not I had scored any points on this one.

What I did not know then is that whatever effort I put in then would not have mattered much because there was another much bigger “political” issue that was on the headmasters mind. Something that was of great concern to him and something that would give me a huge advantage.

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Part 12: Politics

If my memory serves me right we went for half term immediately after that epic soccer game against Starehe and when we came back the headmaster announced the Big Four.

They were Nyairo E. (Carey Francis) Obiero A. (Mitchell) Maleche A. (Speke) and Kavila K. (Kirk). The year before (1981) it had been Otieno J. (Mumia), Mwangi G. (Thomson), Ogot Spike (Tom Mboya), and Alai J. (James).

I went for my morning classes after the announcement stunned. Later we all met at the school pres' comm. In the main administration block or “tower” as it was widely known. In earlier years the very mention of this place spelled terror to all of us. Now we were welcomed by the school prefects of that year led by Head of School Alai (James) and deputy head of school, Spike Ogot (Tom Mboya). We joined the other school prefects in taking tea and the famed “triangles” which were delicious sandwiches that got their name from their shape.

I was very familiar with my 3 colleagues more so because we were all rugby players for the school and we quickly settled down to our new responsibilities. We decided that we would work closely together and do everything together. Unity at this point made a lot of sense more so because this was the time when “campaigns” for head of school would usually go overboard and out of hand in some earlier years. Hardly surprising when it was rather obvious that one of the big four would be named Head of School early the following year which was just a matter of weeks away.

I remember being rather awe-struck. Not just by the power we suddenly wielded but also by the weekly mid-morning tea at the headmaster’s office which were even minuted (if my memory serves me right). Various issues affecting the school were discussed at length.

I have to admit that I started wondering if we were ever going to fit into the shoes of those 1982 school prefects. Alai’s authoritative presence as well as the brilliance of George Mwangi (Thomson), Spike Ogot, Amadi (Mitchell) and Sam Olago (Kirk) all serious science students to boot.

I was lucky because the head of Kirk Sam Olago took me under his wing from the moment the big four were announced. He offered guidance and a lot of advise that was invaluable. We remained friends with Sam years after school and even to date although I have not seen him for decades now.

One of the first pieces of advice we received from the 1982 prefects that I will never forget came from George Mwangi head of Thomson who kept emphasizing that power is never given, it is “taken.” Wise words indeed that hold true anywhere. What he meant in our context was that as school prefects we would only be as powerful as we wanted to be. Very early the following year I found myself in a situation where I would have to put this principal to the test but we shall talk about that when we get to 1983.

Obiero and Nyairo kept us very well informed of previous school prefects and some of the situations they had faced many years earlier which was very educative.

Personally it took quite a lot of adjustments for me to get used to people getting ruffled the minute I appeared somewhere. In those days school prefects were extremely powerful and respected people and in many instances more powerful than even senior teachers.

But trouble would come calling very early before we had even settled down. As stated earlier we had all agreed that we would do everything together. But an incident took place that involved the other three where I happened to be absent. And to make matters worse the incident involved rabbles who were widely known to be my friends from Lugard house.

I cannot remember why I was absent but I am certain that it was for a genuine engagement. Some were sure that I had ducked the incident because it had involved my close friends. The said rabbles were “disciplined” and they decided to sneak on the school prefects. Naturally nothing happened to the prefects but there are those who believe that the incident had an enormous bearing on the headmaster and house masters decision on who was going to be named Head of school. They were convinced that it appeared to the powers that be that I was NOT in support of what happened and had a strong enough character to reject the decision of the others; which was certainly NOT true. But alas, we will probably never know the truth however I have to admit that it is quite likely that this is precisely what happened.

Lenana never succeeded in converting me into a bully. When I became a school prefect I got involved in the use of violence and corporal punishment on some students (usually fairly senior ones) but only as a very last resort. Still it left me very uncomfortable on those very few occasions. I also found it difficult to retain and maintain my friendship with my many friends in lower classes. Through the years some of my house-mates in Kirk found these friendships and associations of mine with persons in lower forms distasteful and very Un-Lenana (if such a word exists). Some of them went as far as accusing me of being a homosexual. I believe this was said more in jest than anything else but I have to admit that it still hurt a great deal.

Sadly after that Lugard incident my relationship with my colleagues was never quite the same again although to a casual observer we still remained friendly and civil to one another.

Part 11: Soccer

Third term 1982 was extremely busy. All soccer-playing sixth formers had gone into hibernation to prepare for their final exams and I was elected Soccer captain.

There was this annual Starehe Boys Founder’s day cup where we had faced their school soccer side for decades. Since I joined 1st form we had never won that cup. We had gotten beaten every year and once we had escaped with a draw.

I was determined to bring the cup to Lenana although I knew the formidable challenge I had before me. I also knew the positive “political” impact it would have on my future personal ambitions.

We would not have had a better soccer master that year. Odhiambo “Pee” who also happened to be the Kirk housemaster and was also an excellent Geography teacher. He had replaced Opiyo (history) and he understood soccer and was always very critical. Together we devised a strategy weeks ahead of the Starehe game. We would crowd the mid field with more players and frustrated their play there and then rely on quick counter attacks to score. We had some good young players who were playing at this level for the first time. However our big star was Kamau H. of Tom Mboya who was a year behind me. Over the years we had had a few ball dribblers at Changes, most notably Anthony Ndungu (1978 soccer captain and lead singer of the school band). But Kamau was in a class of his own. It was said that he had grown up playing soccer in Tanzania but the man was just magical with a soccer ball and could dribble his way right through any defense.

We went for morning jogs both for stamina and to build up our team spirit and morale. We also practiced quick counter attacks. Both were to prove critical in the game.

Odhiambo the soccer master suggested one last change that I initially resisted. He suggested that I move from the mid field to start playing striker. To my surprise in the build-up games before Starehe it worked and I actually scored a few goals.

There was a huge surprise waiting for me on match day that caused us to change the starting line-up. Sixth formers joined us at the last minute. Star players like Otieno Jango, Nesbitt Wesonga and Nigger Odhiambo showed up and I happily put them in the team. I had no doubt that they were fit enough and would make a difference in the grueling game we were about to face.

We arrived at Starehe and the local fans (supposed to be the most disciplined school in Kenya) jeered us. They were confident that we had come for a thrashing. If my memory serves me right Starehe scored first. We equalized soon enough and as the game progressed the Starehe fans realized that this was not going to be the walk-over they had expected. Otieno Jango towered in midfield and helped us hold our own and neutralize their strongest department. Late in the game I got a through pass from a counter attack but stopped when I heard a whistle figuring that it was for offside. I looked at the ref and I could see that the whistle had not come from him. Somebody screamed at me to continue play and I looked up to see the Starehe goalie rushing out to reduce the angle and cut me off. I tried to lob the ball over him but didn’t quite get it high enough. Still it hurtled past him into the net. GOAL! 2-1.

The next few minutes seemed like hours as we held off Starehe. But at the very last minute Starehe were awarded a penalty. Our goal keeper Fritz Achola stretched confidently waiting for the penalty to be taken. Fritz had come to Lenana in fifth form that very year. A quiet guy who didn’t talk much but proved to be one of the best goalkeepers I have ever seen at Changes. His reflexes were amazing. The penalty kicker kicked the ball hard aiming at the top right hand corner of the goal. We watched as the ball went over the bar, but right under it (just in-case) was Fritz’s rather large hand. We had WON!! I walked up to receive the cup from the then Vice president Mwai Kibaki. I realized a little late that he was holding onto the cup and not releasing it, for the photos and felt a little stupid as I waited holding the pose. Finally he released it and I lifted up the Starehe cup. The few fans we had travelled with were ecstatic. Headmaster Ndau Kanyi was there beaming in delight.

We were delirious as we headed back to school. We had done it! We had accomplished what had not been done in a long time.

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Part 10: Monday Morning Nightmare

The benefits of hindsight are very often understated. Looking back now, that last RVA game that won us the Prescott cup should not have been as difficult for us as it turned out to be. Except that RVA was the kind of side that over the years always closely studied their opponents and then devised intricate game plans to counter them.

This came out very clearly in the combined schools matches we had both in 1982 and 1983. Other schoolboys always managed to fit in very well and do their thing. But RVA players selected always had a hard time fitting in and were inevitably a pale shadow of themselves playing for the combined schools side. It was obvious that most of these RVA players needed careful and detailed instructions from the coach, practised to perfection for them to do their thing. This was of course not possible with the limited time we had to assemble and prepared for matches.

Looking back now they had obviously pinpointed the strengths of that ’82 side and devised a plan to shut them down. It was that simple. That is the reason why folks in key positions for us that day like Kimwele, Jango Otieno, Wesonga, PJ Okiro and Jim Ayoki could hardly breathe nor find room to give us the usual breaks we were accustomed to. At Full Back there were no easy up-and-unders for me to catch and kick to touch. I was also kept extremely busy tackling even scrum players.

And so it is hardly surprising that in the end we won by digging deep into our reserves and also by having other good but previously unnoticed players on the side like Nigger Odhiambo getting the opportunity to rise to the occasion.

The Prescott cup was presented to the captain and we did several laps of honor on Stirlings to celebrate. That would be the last game the super ’82 side played and what a fitting climax it was.

Away from rugby there was plenty else that happened in 1982. Headmaster since 1978, Ndau Kanyi had departed for his masters degree at Harvard in mid 1981 and Monk had been acting in his capacity since. He had embarked on a campaign to single-handedly raise the standards of discipline in the school that had taken everybody by surprise. One incident in particular sticks out in my mind like a sore thumb.

It was Monday and after the usual Monday morning parade Monk spoke sternly to the school about bullying and indiscipline and at the end of his speech called out the names of two people. One was a fifth former and the other one was in sixth form. He then proceeded to cane the fifth former in full view of the entire school. Jaws dropped in sheer shock and astonishment at what was happening before our very eyes. Next was the sixth former who bravely and very wisely started walking away in the direction of the school prefect who was on duty that day, Otieno Jango. Monk shouted out at Jango ordering him to “arrest” the said sixth former. It was a tough call but what Jango did next was both fascinating and in my view extremely wise quick thinking on his feet. He made as if to grab hold of the sixth former as he rapidly walked past and then pretended to have been unable to hold on to him. The way you would pretend to want to tackle somebody on a rugby pitch that you really had no intention of tackling. And so you make it look like you tried your best but missed the tackle.

Jango our star fly half in 1982 had never missed a tackle. Playing at Full Back I had to know where the missed tackles would leave me vulnerable and I can tell you that the fly half NEVER EVER missed his tackles. BUT that day he was unable to stop the sixth former. He missed "that tackle" LOL!!!

Monk dismissed the school shortly after that and as we went for classes we tried to analyze what we had just witnessed. The school had always ran on a rigid seniority system and discipline was maintained by students in lower forms respecting their seniors. What would happen now that the unthinkable had taken place in front of the entire school? What impact would it have?

Rabbles were of course delirious and excited at this turn of events. Some of them later said in my hearing that this was effectively the end of bullying and the seniority system at Lenana that enabled seniors to virtually get away with any kind of excessive violence and bullying that they would choose to engage in.

But as second term came to a close I had plenty of other things on my mind. The third term would see the naming of 4 or 5 school prefects from amongst the fifth formers. I was extremely ambitious and had taken time to do plenty of research on who were the real decision-makers when it came to choosing school prefects and ultimately the head of school. By being friendly to teachers and even the subordinate staff, I had learnt a lot that would prove to be very helpful later.

Anybody who understood the school would tell you that it was the headmaster who made the final decision on who to appoint a school prefect. BUT the headmaster did NOT know all the students and I discovered that he relied heavily on the house masters some of whom were particularly powerful when it came to these kinds of decisions. I had earlier been told that the current school prefects always had a big say. I later discovered this to be false and an incident that I will describe later in these memoirs is my conclusive evidence to prove this.

Some of the house masters had been involved in this exercise and long tradition of the school for decades but all borrowed heavily from precedent.

I will be frank. I was more than a little worried. The acting headmaster, Monk happened to be the only teacher at Lenana who had ever caned me. This had happened after I got into a fight with somebody on Fosdicks (described in a much earlier instalment of these memoirs). I had always been sure that he would never consider me a serious candidate for school prefect after that encounter.

Also extremely powerful amongst the house masters was Dickie Ralphs (house master of Mitchell for many years). We had never really hit it off with Ralphs and for no particular reason that I ever discovered. I just sensed that he didn’t like me much.

And so as we came back for third term, I started to prepare myself for the great disappointment that was a real possibility of NOT being included in the “Big four” as we used to refer to it.

Part 9; Battling RVA on Stirlings

How do you prepare for a crunch game against RVA at home? A game that would decide the Prescott cup winner 1982?

That was the challenge that Dave Anderson and captain Nesbitt Wesonga faced in chilly July 1982. I remember that we all went for a long run around the school, something that we had never done before in any practice session. Interestingly fitness and perseverance were to prove to be crucial factors during that game. I also remember that Dave Anderson paid a lot of attention to the scrum and how we would handle line outs and scrum downs against the solid Kijabe boys. Our goal kicker, Otieno Jango put in some extra goal kicking practice.

There was no doubt that this was a great team but we had not beaten RVA since that famous Dave Madara win at RVA in 1980. We had not even beaten them in 7s since. But neither had RVA beaten this great ’82 side. Our last meeting had been a draw at windy Kijabe.

But probably the most important preparation in these kinds of games has to be psychological. Long discussions were going on in Kirk (most of them involving Wesonga) and they were all centered on why we were going to win this game… and why there was no way we were going to lose it.

RVA arrived with the shiny Prescott cup and the question on many people’s minds was whether the cup was going back on the same bus or would remain in Lenana, a home it had never known. One of the things I remember about that chilly afternoon was that the crowd was exceptionally large with plenty of cars parked close to Stirlings. It would have been the perfect time to rob the school because virtually everybody was there.

The huge expectant crowd made it worse for us players and it was much harder to settle down. Big game nerves can lose you a game that you would otherwise have won.

Our local fans rose to the occasion and their familiar loud chants long before the game started portrayed their great excitement and anticipation. The moment of truth had arrived.

“All calamity….. all omni????.. away.” I can still hear the chants and feel the butterflies in my gut like it was yesterday… and not 32 years ago this month.

The ref awarded Lenana a penalty early in the game and Otieno J pointed to the posts. Everybody was surprised. It was at least 10 yards into our half (we were playing towards Kinyajui house). A good way to gain ground, I said to myself. He would miss and RVA would have to restart on their 25. Otieno had of course never converted from this kind of range. Such kicks were left to folks like Jacko Omaido and nobody else. An interesting aside here was a game with a visiting side (Blackheath from the UK, in 1979 I think) when Jacko converted a penalty from close to the Kenya 25. We were watching the game at the RFUEA and when the ball went over as it was still rising, the Blackheath pack leader yelled at his players; OK guys no more penalties anywhere on the pitch.” We of course laughed at the significance of what he was saying acknowledging that Kenya had a goal kicker who could get it over from anywhere on the pitch.

But back to my tale. This was Otieno J. and NOT Jacko. Although they both passed through the same house, Mumia.

Stirlings held its’ breath but burst into loud cheers when the ball actually went over and between the posts. 3 points!! I couldn't believe it! I excitedly went over to congratulate Otieno J. who was un-flustered at what he had just accomplished. And neither was he receptive to any congratulations just yet. “Jahaa, the game isn’t over,” he scolded.

And indeed the joy was short-lived because RVA quickly responded with a penalty and as the game progressed it looked like they had the upper hand. Their defence was solid and they were paying very close attention to our star winger Kimwele. It hardly mattered that we won most of the balls from the scrum because the pressure was always too high the minute the ball game flying out.

On the other wing we had an unlikely winger in Nigger Odhiambo. He had started out as a hooker but had insisted on playing on the wing. He wasn’t particularly fast but he could side-step and had earned that position from dogged determination and persistence.

We were into the second half and you could cut through the tension on Stirlings with a knife.

“Come on guys.” I heard the captain’s repeated shouts as exhaustion set in. Then the ball went down the line yet again and into the hands of Nigger. He stopped dead in his tracks and then suddenly took off seeing a gap through the solid RVA defense. Most were expecting him to be tackled at any minute but he kept going. One RVA hand lunged to grab him but he arched his back and it just missed his shirt.

We must have all been too exhausted because I don’t remember seeing any support close to him. It is like the whole team became spectators as Nigger hurtled down the wing on the half facing the bunduu away from Kinyanjui house. Nigger was over the line and it was a try.

Pandemonium on Stirlings.

And much more of it a few minutes later when the final whistle was blown. We had won the Prescott cup.

Part 8; It Went To My Head

The Kenya combined schools versus Scorpions encounter at the RFUEA grounds in 1982 was a fascinating encounter. Above everything else it confirmed the greatness of that 1982 side.

We had no less than 11 players in that combined schools team from our super ’82 squad. It was said that the whole team should have just been Lenana only that it would not then have been combined schools side and so a handful of players from other schools were sprinkled on the team for appearances sake. If I am not wrong the Mean Maroon players on the side were; Wesonga, Pj, Otieno, Kimwele, Ayoki, Dablo, Kavila, Maleche, Spike Ogot, Okello Aliker, George Mwangi. The whole back-line was Lenana save for Jeff Koinange of St Marys (yes, the same Jeff Koinange who is today a celebrity media personality) and a blind side winger from Alliance High School (can’t quite remember his name but it might have been Anampiu).

I was voted the best combined schools player which naturally went straight to my head as I shall explain shortly. Hardly surprising when you consider the kind of quality players who featured in that game that I was up against for the award.

To keep the game interesting Scorpions were instructed to occasionally kick away possession and give the school boys a chance to run around with the ball. They did this at the beginning of the match but promptly stopped as the first half progressed and it became clear that this was not going to be the usual run around with schoolboys.

You will remember that most of the team had had prior experience playing against club sides. And so none of us were intimidated by the fact that we were playing the top rugby players in the country. Speedy Akatsa, Jimmy Owino (RIP), Jacko Omaido, Walter Omaido (RIP) etc. Personally I had already had a taste of playing several matches for Impala during the previous school holidays in the top Kenya cup for clubs.

We won most of our own balls in the scrum and lineout. Jim Ayoki as usual would win every loose ball situation he was involved in amongst much bigger and heavier opponents. The instinctive partnership of Wesonga and Otieno was intact in the half-back positions and most times when the ball got to Kimwele the crowd would be on its’ feet as he surprised Akatsa and company with his high speed side-steps. You can see how difficult and unfair it must have been singling out just one player in this game for an award.

I believe what may have given me the edge was my tackling which that day was out of this world. In one incident captured in a set of photos speedy Akatsa made a deep run and had just started diving for the try when I took him in mid air both of us landing in the grass off the pitch and safely away from the try area. Those photos were in a magazine published by Chris Onsotti (RIP) (Quins) which I somehow managed to misplace (or were they stolen?) over the years in my frequent movements. In another incident I took a high ball with Scorpions players breathing down my neck and limited options and called out a mark. The crowd gasped and I think they did that because they did not expect schoolboys to know WTF that was. You need to catch the ball and mark the spot with your foot and you must be stationary. You cannot call out a mark when you are in motion. The ref can then award you what is similar to a penalty pushing the opposition at least 10 yards back and allowing a harassed player room to either kick for touch or pass the ball to continue play.

In the end Scorpions won the game narrowly but the small excited crowd gave us a standing ovation. Dave Anderson was beaming in the stands his eyes shining through his specs with pride. I received a big Kenyan wildlife photography book with the signatures of all the Scorpions players and started thinking that I may be better off trying out for the All Blacks or something.

Most of you will know that when something goes to your head it is basically all over. It means that you stop learning because you are no longer teachable and your relationship with the rest of the team which is crucial in any team sport just goes to the dogs.

Back at Kirk house with the book firmly clutched in my arms I reflected on the journey that had led me here (shared in my previous post).

Fortunately for me it all came crashing down and I was brought back down to earth in a match against a school side on Sterlings. I joined the line on an overlap and went over the try line. Instead of putting the ball down I attempted to do some precise measurements with my steps so that I could place the ball at the exact centre spot (LOL!!). Somebody knocked the ball out of my hands and the try was lost. 6 points gone just like that. It is NOT that we needed the try but Anderson was livid and other members of the team, most notably Nesbitt Wesonga and George Mwangi made it clear to me that what I had done was totally unacceptable. Who T. F. did I think I was!!!

I felt bad but more importantly I came back to my senses.