Muggz: Where Sabina Chege relished githeri top layer

By James Mwangi | 2023-05-22T00:00:00+03:00 | 2 min read

Mugoiri Girls High School in Murang'a County was started in 1938 as a primary school. Later, between 1940 and 1956, the school was turned into an intermediate school by the Consolata Sisters.

The late Sr Zaveria Pasqualini, a Consolata missionary, enrolled the first 25 girls, and by late 1956, the student population had reached 150, with most pursuing teaching courses.Then, the school which is nicknamed 'Muggz', was called Gatiiguru (which means 'hill' in Kikuyu).

With the help of the government and Nyeri Catholic Diocese, sisal, and timber structures were replaced by stone-walled structures.Here, stern rules applied, and girls receiving letters from brother schools were punished, with the love letters displayed on hall walls for all and sundry to see.

Punishment ranged from kneeling at the fishpond, whipping, clearing the compound with blunt pangas, and kneeling near dogs' kennels where smelly poo was a standard fixture. Other times, it would be some manual work or fetching firewood.

All sourness would be washed away at the assembly with a familiar hymn, "Nii ningwenda Ngai umenyage... (I would want my God to know that....)".

Few alumni can forget the 'coughing' school bus which has since been replaced with a new one, or the time a cat pooed in githeri and students had to wait for ugali madondo to be prepared afresh.

It was in this academic giant where former Murang'a Woman Rep Sabina Chege, and Politician Evelyn Kerubo, wore white blouses, dark brown skirts, and light brown cardigans and never missed the top layer of githeri and occasional pork dish at 'Fort Hall Academy.'

Others guided by the motto, "You are the Light," include Tecla Chemobo, the principal of Karen Technical Training Institute for the Deaf, Rosebeth Kaburia, former Deputy Secretary of the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC), and Mary Muiruri, a tutorial fellow at Kenyatta University.