By Lydia Ngoolo
All rounded in field activities and class work, a girl from St. Thomas Aquinas Mukameni Mixed day and boarding secondary school in Makindu sub county was awarded a trophy by Makueni County governor Mutula Kilonzo after she took many by surprise when she secured position two in the East Africa triple jump games.
Lillian Mutanu Michael was awarded during a gala hosted recently by the governor to congratulate all school teams and individuals who made it to the National and East African levels in recently concluded secondary school games and music festivals.
While pledging to raise the county’s education levels in both academics and sports, Mutula called upon other students to discover and nurture their talents in order to improve their livelihoods as well as those of their families by following Mutanu’s footsteps.
“I was in position two in triple jump, position one went to a girl from Uganda. I am sure I will perform better next time. It was a nice experience which helped me do away with the biased perspective I had towards others,” said Mutanu.
She narrated that her interest in sporting activities began while in primary school and became more involved after she joined high school.
Mutanu revealed that before Covid-19 hit, she was to go for regional games in both the long and triple jump games.
She has also participated in table tennis and badminton tournaments up to regional level. She is also good in football where she plays in the local league dubbed ‘Mashinani’.
Mutanu hopes that if called for incoming trials, she will represent Kenya in Egypt.
She revealed that her main challenge was that being a day scholar, her practice time was limited in addition to hailing from a poor background, an issue which forces her to miss classes occasionally.
Her coach Jonathan Muthiani, who is also the school’s games master, said that Mutanu was very dedicated and self-driven.
“You can imagine she has been a games director for three years. She was chosen to be Team Captain for the Makueni team and also Assistant Captain for the team which proceeded to East Africa. What a girl! She has excellent leadership traits and shines wherever she is,” said Muthiani.
The school Principal Stephen Matheka, who doubles as KESSHA Makindu sub county chairman said that Mutanu had raised their profile in the region.
“The girl comes from a poor background and we waived part of her school fees in appreciation of her achievements,” added the Principal.
He disclosed that as a school, they shall make sure that they have exposed and linked her to reliable sporting bodies and avenues that will develop her talent further.
“Mutanu is a good student both in class and co-curricular activities. I am sure she will get good academic certificates to support her talent fully. I have so much hope in her,” he said.
