By James Ratemo and Fatuma Fugicha

Mzee, Kimani Maruge, the 90-year old man who earned his way into the Guinness Book of Records in 2004 for being the oldest pupil in the world, has been baptized.

After being baptized at Kariobangi Catholic Church in Nairobi, on Sunday, he was renamed Stephen Maruge.

Confined into a wheelchair, the Standard Seven pupil, who is suffering from stomach cancer, said he accepted salvation after reading the Bible.

Mzee Kimani Maruge is baptised by Father Maroko at Nairobi’s Kariobangi Catholic Church on Sunday. Picture: Mbugua Kibera/Standard

Maruge hit world headlines in 2004 for being the oldest man in the world to begin school at the age of 84. His enrolment came at time when the Narc Government introduced Free Primary Education.

He wanted to learn how to count money, which he hopes to receive as compensation from the Government for fighting against the British colonialists. He also yearned to read the Bible for himself, a feat he has now accomplished.

Maruge’s academic venture was disrupted last year following the post-election violence that rocked the country.

But undeterred, Maruge appealed to the Government to relocate him to Nairobi where he could continue with his education. He plea was heeded and he has since remained in Nairobi.

"I want them to relocate me to a safe environment like Nairobi where I can continue studying with security and all the proper materials," Maruge told the media last year.

So determined was Maruge in his education, that even while living in Eldoret IDP camps, he still attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School without failing.

He has been honoured by the United Nations as the most senior schoolboy alive.