The journey of Chief Principal Samuel Akufa has been marked with resilience, faith, impactful leadership and patience. Born in 1972 and raised in the humble village of Fubuye, situated along attractive Nandi escarpment in Malava constituency ,young determined Samuel Akufa began his academic journey trekking 8 kilometers bare foot to Teresia primary school in quest of education and hope to change his community in future.
Upon concluding his primary education, determined Akufa joined Tande Day Secondary School, where despite parent’s struggles to pay his school fees, his efforts, focus and resolve walking 10 kilometers barefoot led him to secure a place in Kenyatta University marking a significant step in his glowing teaching career.
Speaking to Education News in his office, Akufa said he began teaching career in Poror immediately after graduating from the Kenyatta university teaching Kiswahili and History subjects.
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His role in leadership began to shine early in his career when he was delegated with key roles and responsibilities just nine years in service, serving as Head of Department, languages and a class teacher during an era when cases of indiscipline in school were rampant.
Determined Akufa while in Poror steered music, drama and cross country to provincial level. Alongside administrative roles like being in charge of admissions, Akufa’s while teaching Kiswahili in the two schools managed to improve Kiswahili subject to magnificent mean of 9.0, highest record ever for the institution.
While steering the Kiswahili subject, he was mandated by teachers in the region to be Executive Committee member and Secretary General Chama Cha Kiswahili in the then district level bolstering Kiswahili results in the region and qualifying Poror High School to Provincial level he also took up role of playwright in Kiswahili drama and poetry.
Akufa was later transferred from Poror to prestigious Kipsigis Girls in June 2000 where he served for two years. Upon assuming role as Deputy Principal in Moi Sorget, Akufa transformed little known school into a Centre of academic excellence, bringing the school into the limelight where in 2004, through his unwavering commitment and calculated strategies in leadership in academics bolstered school to a remarkable mean score of 6.5 with stellar mean of 7.0 in Kiswahili elevating pride in Kiswahili.
His career in leadership and management began to prove him a trailblazer in Sorget Secondary in rural area of Londiani which was struggling with a myriad of challenges forcing him to take sacrifices with fellow teachers to improve academic standards of the school.
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Akufa later assumed the role as Principal when he was later moved to Henry Kosgey Secondary School, Kibukwo in Nandi, Tinderet Sub County in September 2005 where he played a pivotal role in increasing student enrolment from a meager 232 to 600.
During his 11 year stay as the school head, Akufa, through the institution’s able Board of Management (BoM), collaborative teachers, society and students led to good results followed by putting up of best structures thus giving the school a facelift.
The Principal’s untiring journey of uplifting the standards of education in the school demonstrated resilience and deep commitment to nurturing academic excellence earning him accolades and was consequently bestowed roles as Chairman academic committee in Nandi East, South and Tinderet sub counties and the Kenya Secondary School Association (KESSHA) as part of the lobby Executive serving as the Treasurer and also as member of the County Executive Governing Council in Nandi County.
Mr. Akufa has been serving with Kenya institute of Education (KIE), now Kenya Institute of Curricular Development (KICD) as part of a key team of few panelists who played an integral role in evaluating text books in the market countrywide.
He later joined Moi High School Kabartonjo in Baringo County in May 2016 as Principal and was effectively promoted to Senior Principal underscoring his mission to uplift standards of education to improve performance of the school which by then was phasing out the last cohort of girls in 2019 to transform it into a fully-fledged boy’s school.
Infrastructure development in the school has so far seen it complete two storey buildings with another storey building to house the Multi-Purpose Dining Hall under construction to accommodate the student population that has risen from 680 in 2016 and 1,006 in 2025.
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Other transformations at the school include; Provision of enough water from a nearby spring, successful dairy farming under zero grazing, growing of vegetables to generate extra income and coffee farming.
‘‘We have also engaged our students in planting of over 1000 trees at the school farm marking significant step to embrace Government’s master plan of ensuring 15 billion trees are planted by 2030. This alongside other efforts to support forest cover has also prepared our learners to support actions geared towards combating climate change actions” said the Chief Principal.
Through his stewardship, the school has been participating annually in the Music and Drama festivals at the national level and this year, declared reigning football champions in Baringo county.
The school has also been feted for its outstanding role in producing superb sports talents in handball, hockey, rugby, basketball and other indoor games.
‘‘Our school this year produced 16 students who participated in national Chess competitions. We recently managed to produce one student who was awarded after competing at the African Schools individuals Chess Championship which Kenya played host for Intercontinental Chess Championship in Mombasa” said Akufa.
He lauded the support from BoM, teachers, support staff and parents for their huge role which ensured good results annually and affirmed that Moi High School Kabartonjo was the best boys’ school in the sub county.
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He said he had successfully undergone several induction courses at the Kenya Education Staff Institute (KESI) now known as Kenya Institute of Management (KEMI).
He later pursued and completed advanced management training in 2011 and earned a Diploma in Education in 2014 and enhanced leadership capabilities courtesy of the Senior Management Course (SMC) and Strategic Leadership Management Programme in 2018 at the Mombasa and Kabarnet branches of the Kenya School of Government respectively.
He also been involved as the Chairman of the Academics Committee in Baringo North region as well as being the Treasurer for the Baringo North KESSHA chapter. Currently, Akufa is pursuing a Masters degree in Curriculum Studies and another Masters in Kiswahili Studies.
He has also mentored several teachers at the school such as Mark Sheri, Willy Chepkangor, Joshua Chebii among others who have since been promoted to serve as principals at various schools across the country.
His notable achievement in the school has been on the academic front with an upward trend in KCSE results for the last four years. The school hit a good 8.34 mean score in last year’s KCSE, marking a huge milestone since the inception of the school.
He has also been involved in nurturing student talents through annual Tamasha festivals where the school has been recognized for showcasing exceptional skills.
The soft spoken administrator is thanking God for how far he has come, in his hugely successful career as a teacher. Beyond the school gates, his philanthropic efforts continue to touch the lives of many. From supporting needy students with school fees and spearheading development projects, he remains deeply committed to giving back to the community.
By Alfred Kimosop
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