At St Mary's Kibabii, it was work and Catholic prayers

St Mary’s Kibabii High School along the Bungoma-Chwele Road on the outskirts of Bungoma town prides itself as a churner of top leaders in many fields.

The Catholic sponsored school that was founded in 1952 was an academic giant in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983 for instance, the school, that at some point almost became a technical training college, produced eight students who joined the University of Nairobi’s Medical School, when only 80 were admitted for the course in Kenya!

Their endless rivalry with Bungoma High School took a comic turn when Kibabii students marched for four kilometres gloating over defeating Bungoma in the 2014 KCSE exams.

Kibabii earned a mean score of 8.5 against Bungoma’s 8.3!

Among the alumni of ‘Kiba’ as it’s nicknamed, and who were guided by the motto Orare et Laborare (Latin for ‘pray and work’) are Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka, Boniface Otsyula (Bumula MP), Tim Wanyonyi (Westlands MP) and current Kanduyi MP, Wafula Wamunyinyi.

Others who wore its grey trousers and light blue shirts were Simiyu Wandibba, a professor of anthropology at the University of Nairobi; Prof Cornelius Wanjala, the head of chemistry at South Eastern Kenya University; and Dr Moses Sichei, a consultant with UNDP. 

Political activist Wafula Buke, the ODM Director of Strategy and Political Affairs; John Makali, the Bungoma County Assembly Speaker and the leading student in 1989 also sported the school’s green ties as did  AFC Leopards midfielder Benard Mang’oli.