Stephen Rutoh had never drunk alcohol until he got a transfer to a school in Baringo North.
Between home and school, there was a stretch that divided households on either side, scattering them right and left in no specific order.
One of these homes belonged to one Joseph Ruto (not related to him by any string) who had gained notoriety for brewing all kinds of fermented stuff.
To Rutoh, nothing struck him at first until he was initiated into the society of drinking during one of, well, an initiation ceremony that turned boys into men.
On one occasion, he was invited to be part of the community, which means he had to take a sip of busaa and muratina.
It was not forced though, but he wanted to impress the elders to be accepted fully as one of their own.
It felt good.
Later, as he worked his routine walk to school, he felt a strong urge to pass by Ruto’s.
That was the beginning of trouble. Initially, he would take a few pints in time to reach school before classes commenced.
But as time went by, his detours became more frequent and regular and soon, it had become as routine as the classes he was attending. It had become so habitual that he started skipping school as the drink took the better of him.
“In a drunken stupor, my drinking mates were the ones who often reminded me that I was already late for school,” he recalls, adding that at one time he fought with a fellow drunk who tore a page of his textbook to roll some tobacco for himself.
The Headteacher had grown so tired of him that he wanted him out. His family was falling apart.
That was in 1977.
Now retired, he retraces his school journey and his recovery from alcohol addiction.
“My father loved school and ensured my admission to Kituro Primary School in 1952. I covered 18KM each day to and from school,” he said.
He later joined a school in Kakamega and shifted to Menengai High School in Nakuru.
He was privileged to be among the first batch of Africans to get admission to the former Asian school. Sadly, he dropped out in 1967 because his father, then a white settler’s employee, retired.
Kenya Prisons was the next destination, being posted to Lang’ata Prison after training.
In 1969, he resigned from the service and being a secondary school dropout, he soon landed a job as an untrained school teacher at Kipsaraman Primary School in Baringo North.
He then enrolled for a Cambridge certificate at Maseno and studied privately before joining Kericho Teachers College for an in-service training between 1973 and 1977.
“My young family and I settled there at Barkebo and specifically at a village called Kapkoiwo. Being a teacher those days was a great honour and many people addressed me by the title ‘Mwalimu’”, he recalls.
“This is the point where I was no longer providing for my family, which sometimes could go without food and clothing,” he adds in a regretful tone.
But hope was not lost.
Daniel Chesiyna, a colleague whom he had taught with at Kipsaraman, got wind of his situation and wanted to help. That was in 1980.
“Chesiyna approached the education offices requesting that I be transferred to his school Kapchekisa Primary where he was head teacher, and his wish was granted,” Rutoh says.
His friend thought he had succeeded because there wasn’t any alcohol near the school. He was wrong.
It was not long before the drinking community took him round the joints for a good introduction, which were by no means near.
“We could walk all the way to Talai and even Kasisit, some twenty Kilometres away looking for something intoxicating,”
Education officers in Kabarnet noted that he was a teacher who needed help and not victimization. In their own wisdom, they transferred him all the way to Kewamoi Primary School in Sacho, Baringo Central.
This is home to late President Moi.
“It is here that I remained sober most of the time and I started reflecting on the misery I have caused myself and my family,” he reflects sorrowfully.
There wasn’t any alcohol or drunkards around the school and this worked magic! It was extremely difficult to get alcohol. He missed it badly but after some months, the desire for alcohol faded completely.
“With no alcohol to distract me, I gave my all in class and tried to be the best teacher I could as the only trained teacher in the school,” he remembers.
In 1981, his class performed very well with many getting express admissions to national schools. He was becoming a celebrity.
Then there was another hurdle. One last!
To celebrate my sterling performance, some well-to-do parents had a sweet surprise for me. They sent one Simon Kebut and through him, I learnt that they had organized a drinking party in my honour.
“My drinking had actually made me famous throughout the education fraternity. Afraid to disappoint, I sent a message that a liver problem had forced me to quit drinking,” he said.
In truth, he did not want to betray them by summarily announcing he had quit.
Back home in Baringo North, many people heard he had quit alcohol and was already causing a positive revolution in the education sector.
In 1985, a delegation from Baringo North led by one Nathaniel Barmosio stormed Kewamoi demanding that he goes back home because his services were badly needed at a school known as Atiar.
“I reported to Atiar Primary School after an acrimonious standoff because I really missed my family and wanted to see them daily. Blessings came in quick succession and I was promoted to serve as a head teacher at Kabaron Primary School before moving to Ng’orora in 1988,” he says.
Now free from alcohol, he reunited with his family and managed to educate all his children to college and even university levels.
It is a grueling journey that happily culminated in acquiring a Bachelor’s degree, which he guarantees he would never have got had he not quit drinking.
“The University of Columbia in New York City, Upper Manhattan enrolled me to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Education, graduating in 2000. The Teachers Service Commission recognized my academic achievement, and something important happened to my pay slip and even my retirement package,” he jokes, advising young people not to travel the road he took, especially teachers as the difficult work environment may be a temptation to many.
By Jeremiah Chamakany
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