Much has been said and will remain to be said about President Mwai Kibaki, the departed giant of Kenya. And, no doubt, all of us will remember him in different ways because his rich life touched us in different ways. Personally, I will always remember him as a committed educationist.
Peter Strople, a business strategist, said that ‘legacy is not leaving something for people. It's leaving something in people.’ Little wonder then that the one thing that is top of the mind on President Kibaki’s legacy is the Free Primary Education programme that he implemented when he came into office in 2003. We heard it last week. Many of the young Kenyans who lined up to pay their respects to him told us that they went because he offered them a chance to get an education. That is an enduring legacy.
One of the things that really surprises me about that programme was just how he managed to pull it off. He had barely got into office when children returned to school from their December holidays. There was hardly any money to fund it. Yet, armed with a stubborn commitment to deliver on his promise, he put one of the most capable ministers on duty, and children went to school. These are the young adults that are getting into the job market now. We will reap the benefits on that programme for decades to come.
Because President Kibaki was not one to list his titles, many people do not know that one of the roles that he held for more than 50 years was Patron of the Starehe Boys’ Centre, my alma mater. This is how I actually became acquainted with him. As Patron, he graced the Founders’ Day, year after year. I admired the fact that he took the time to come to the school and spend time with us. He inspired me greatly.
Dr Geoffrey Griffin, the Founder Director of Starehe and himself an internationally respected educationist, often told us of how he made the decision to choose President Kibaki as the Patron following the death of the first patron, Tom Mboya in 1969. Dr Griffin said that he wanted to appoint someone who would ensure the school continues to play its role in the society, even when the founders had moved on. He saw President Kibaki as the right choice. He accepted the invitation and held that position until the point of his death.
Many years later, President Kibaki and former First Lady Lucy Kibaki were some of the initial supporters for the establishment of the Starehe Girls’ Centre. Mama Lucy Kibaki became the Patron of the new school.
If I were to speculate about the factors that shaped his resolve to reform Kenya’s education sector so greatly, I would say his own life journey and his work as Patron of Starehe. His own life is a testament to the transformative power of education. His life was greatly changed by his education at Makerere University and the London School of Economics. He begun his career in the education sector; teaching at Makerere.
In his role as Patron of Starehe, he saw the miracles of the transforming power of education unfold over and over. Boys from the most deprived homes becoming leaders of national and international repute, simply because they were offered an education. He was determined to replicate that miracle, a million times over.
Throughout his tenure, he went on expanding access to education. The Free Primary Education became the trigger for expansion of access in other levels of education. We not only saw a great expansion of secondary schools, many of them constructed through the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), but he followed the free primary education with tuition-free secondary education.
Due to the investments that President Kibaki made in the education sector, Kenya is now one of the most educated populations in Africa. As a nation, we owe him a great deal of gratitude for his contribution.
We must protect that legacy and continue to do everything we can to ensure that every child has a fair chance at obtaining quality education. Each of us who can do so must do our bit. I feel greatly honoured to be working for an organisation that is committed to supporting education and empowering the youth.
This is an area that I am passionate about and I plan to play my part and ensure that as an organisation we play a crucial role in this sector for the benefit of future generations.
The writer is CEO, Safaricom PLC
