By Boniface Mulu
The Kitui Catholic Diocese is currently sponsoring a total of 120 public secondary and 267 public primary schools in Kitui County, according to the Diocesan Bishop the Right Reverend Joseph Mwongela.
The prelate also disclosed that the diocese owns 24 schools in the region, even as he asked private school owners to offer some scholarships to the students from poor families.
He was speaking to thousands of Catholic faithful when he officially opened the Diocese’s Saint Raphael’s Catholic Pre-School in Kitui Town recently where he was chief guest.
“The Diocese owns four pre-schools; Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Marian and now Saint Raphael,” Bishop Mwongela said.
He said the school is a place where disadvantaged children can access education for free, adding that they had the land and the vision to turn the place into a centre of excellence.
The bishop strongly condemned all forms of the land grabbing in Kenya, pointing out that part of the land on which Saint Raphael’s Catholic Pre-School stood had been stolen.
“We will repossess that land from land grabbers,” he promised.
He further thanked the Equity Bank for the unwavering support for the education sector in the country.
In his speech, the Kitui Catholic Diocesan Education Secretary Father Reverend Julius Muthamba promised to nurture young learners and make the new school a centre of excellence.
The occasion was also addressed by the Saint Marian Catholic Pre-School head teacher Everlyn Mutemi, Kitui Central Constituency parliamentary aspirant Joseph M. Kasyula, Equity Bank Kitui Branch Manager Francis Mbindyo, Saint Raphael’s Catholic Pre-School head teacher Catherine Mutave, Kitui Catholic Private Schools Association Chairperson Virginia Kiilu, Saint Marian Catholic Pre-School Board of Management Chairperson Felistus Kitavi and Kenya Secondary Schools Heads Association (KESSHA) Kitui County Chairman Benjamin V. Muatine, among others.
