As 1981 drew to a close I had some serious worries of my own. I wasn't sure that I had done enough to win a 5th form place back in Changes. We had heard many stories about the emotions that went with the singing of the last hymn; “Lord dismiss us with thy blessings”. More so the part that addressed “those returning.”
For me it was a strange feeling. This place that I had hated with all my guts swearing to do my fifth form elsewhere in “a more civilized, less violent school” just two short years earlier was now the place that I wanted to come back to at all costs. My biggest nightmare now was failing to come back. The furthest thought on my mind at the time was rugby.
The school holidays passed swiftly. One day we were sitting around doing a lot of nothing with Chris Gatumbi (RIP) my Kirk house-mate, who was now a close neighbor (he lived in Valley Arcade and we lived close somewhere along Othaya Road) when we got word that the results were out. He had a small motorbike and we rushed to Lenana and the crash hall. To be honest I had no idea what to expect. Guilt from all the hours “wasted” on rugby flooded me.
But we rode back home in Gatumbi’s motorbike with joy. We were both “returning.” Despite the rugby I had managed a first division of 21 points. The sciences as expected were a total zulu war of “rungus” for me (how we described failure in those days). But mathematics and the arts carried me through and my best six were more than good enough for a division one. I did not know it at the time but these O-level results would later play a significant role in deciding my fate at “changes.”
It was like Anderson was waiting for us and shortly after we got back to school he informed us all that our rugby season would be starting early with residential training during the April school holidays. We would come from the holidays early to train.
Actually I now saw a lot of Anderson every day even though it was not yet rugby season, because he started teaching me something other than rugby for the first time since he arrived in '81, as my economics teacher.
He even used his influence to get a few guys back who had not quite made it. They triumphantly marched back with the second selection and lo behold the complete Moss Moss squad was once again assembled at Lenana this time as the official Mean maroon squad.
The first controversy involved the elections of officials. Captain, Vice captain and secretary. Traditionally the secretary would be the rugby captain the following year. I was tipped for the post by some while others wanted Big Jim Ayoki (R.I.P). Some Kirk sixth formers urged me on because they wanted a total domination of the team by our house since it was almost certain that Nesbitt Wesonga (also from Kirk) would be captain. Just before the elections Tony Maleche and Aloise Obiero approached me and asked me to step down for the sake of unity. The way they approached me it seemed that they were sure that I was NOT going to oblige easily and so they promised to help me get elected Soccer captain with ease the following term.
The whole incident was a shock to me because until that moment I had not yet realized that fifth form in those days was always bound to be a “politically charged” year with plenty at stake.
Still I accepted the deal quickly without a second thought mainly because I already had a lot on my plate with the school play and other activities. In my mind I thought it would be great to play my rugby unhindered by other responsibilities. In retrospect I was right. Besides Big Jim made a great secretary and later captain and in all honesty did better than I would ever have done. Especially because of the numerous other responsibilities I was going to start carrying shortly some which would weight down on me rather heavily.
Leadership is everything and the 82 side would have easily been short-circuited by bad leadership but looking back now I see how fate was very kind to us. Wesonga was an inspirational skipper and knew how to get the best out of every player. I had seen him do this many times in Kirk house teams. Vice captain and pack leader Spike Ogot ended up being another inspired choice. Both would be severely tested at trying times mostly during clashes with RVA and would be called upon to rally the troops to snatch victory from the very jaws of defeat. I was taken aback by Spike’s ability to get people psyched up with a mere pep talk. As the year progressed his leadership abilities were clearly visible as he headed Tom Mboya house in what was to be a remarkable year for the house.
Looking back I should have known that there was no way we were going to go wrong with such great leadership.
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