Where Smokin Wanjala and Paul Otuoma bathed to eat meat

Dr Smokin Wanjala and Funyula MP Paul Otuoma are some of the notable alumni of Sigalame High School

Sigalame High School was one of the first boys’ schools in Funyula Constituency, Busia County.

Founded in 1964 as a boys boarding and day school by the local government, it was officially opened on March 14, 1970 by Robinson Mcllvaine, the then American ambassador to Kenya. It was later expanded and its curriculum developed to cater for arts and sciences.

Sigalame was notorious for its strikes and was once considered the most kichwa ngumu school in the country, a reputation cemented when students levelled down school buildings in 1975 in what went down as the worst high school strike in Kenya’s history. It has since changed and is now a reputable academic giant.

At Sigalame, most students preferred the Big Hostel, a one-storey building that housed four dormitories; Munana, Okello, Ngala and Ageng’a. Students who resided in this hostel called themselves “Wasee wa jiji,” since it was the only storied building in the school and most felt it was an opportunity to live in a gorofa while the rest stayed in ‘slums’.

Being in dry Samia Sub-County meant going out eight kilometres to fetch water for laundry and bathing at ‘River Munana’ at 4pm. Going out to Munana saw entrepreneurial students buying fish and sell them to fellow students for Sh30 to supplement ‘herbs’ (sukuma wiki) on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays were the beloved nyake days when even anti-shower students bathed to eat meat while feeling fresh. Those allergic to meat were served sukuma wiki and eggs.

But cook Elias, nicknamed, mnyoaji, served little food, forcing some to go for ‘paper two,’ which involved sneaking to the queue.

The top 10 and bottom 10 students in monthly CATs would be paraded at the school assembly in what was known as kujitoma ndani. Students who felt they hadn’t performed well feigned sickness!

Sigalame boys had St Cecilia Nangina Girls as a sister school and the highlight of most evenings was having your name called out to get a love letter at the dining hall.

Notable alumni guided by the motto, Soma Ujitegemee, are Supreme Court Judge Dr Smokin Wanjala, Funyula MP Paul Otuoma, Gilbert Muyumbu, the East and Southern Africa Governance and Accountability Advisor for Care International, journalists Oscar Obonyo and Dominic Wabala also endured regular water shortage at Sigalame High School.