For twins, it's neck-and-neck race to success

By Beatrice Obwocha

They came into this world only five minutes apart, then attended the same school through primary school where they were crowned the top two pupils.

For high school, James Mlawasi Mwakichako went to Alliance Boys High School while his twin sister, Rebecca Wughanga went to Alliance Girls High School.

Both scored straight As in the just released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

Mlawasi scored a mean grade of 86.83 and made it to top 100 students nationally where he was ranked 39.

Wughanga scored a mean grade of 84 and was the fifth best student in her school.

The two, who are staying with their father, Bernard Mwakichako Kubo, in Nakuru, hugged each other and their father smiling, clearly beside themselves with joy.

"This is a pleasant surprise, the two have been performing well. I am so happy that they scored the same grade," Kubo said of his children.

The father, who is the Geothermal Development Corporation Central Rift Manager recalled how he received the news.

He said he was at Menengai Crater where they are drilling wells for geothermal electricity generation when he received a text message from his son.

"First, he sent his results and I was very happy. I asked about the sister, he said they were waiting for the reply after they sent an enquiry on the Short Messaging System. Later, they told me about her results and I was overjoyed," he said.

Kubo said this was not the first time that the two had excelled; they had done as well in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. The twins attended Mwatate Junior Academy and were ranked the first and second best pupils in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations in Taita Taveta District.

Tight-knit: Mlawasi and Wughanga celebrating their exam triumph with their father, Kubo. [PHOTOS: BONIFACE THUKU/Standard]

Mlawasi scored 439 marks while Wughanga got 424 marks, winning admission to top national high schools.

Mlawasi said being twins, they had similar goals and even studied together both in primary and secondary school.

He said that they used to exchange revision materials whenever either visited the other’s school either for games or other school-related activities.

"During holidays, we would study together and encourage each other. We are glad our hard work paid off," he said.

Mlawasi confesses that his joy was not complete without knowledge of his sister’s results.

"We have the same dream of being doctors and I was hoping that she has performed well. I was so happy when we got her results and she had also scored an A," he told The Standard.

School captains

There are striking coincidences about their lives. Apart from Mlawasi being older by five minutes, they were allocated "sister and brother" dormitories in that when the two schools had inter-dormitory competitions, and the two would compete against each other.

Both were school captains in Alliance.

Wughanga said at times she would feel unwell, her brother was also unwell and vice versa.

"We do not think that we are identical but sometimes we say or do the same things. But the most pronounced thing is that we have the same interests and dreams," she said.

Wughanga said she was happy with her KCSE results and hoped they would secure admission to the same university to study medicine.

"I consider my twin brother as my big brother since he was born five minutes earlier, and he used to wake me up early and we would sleep late during holidays to study," she said.

Wughanga said after school, they registered for computer classes and are set to finish before joining university.

Mlawasi is also involved in a project sponsored by Magic Wand Foundation that offers scholarship to African students to attend the Ultimate Life Summit in the US.

The Summit, he said, helps youth in leadership as well as encourage them in education and motivate other students.