By Victor Ochieng’
A visit to the small town of Thogoto in Kiambu county will make you agree that places don’t make people, but people make places.
This place hums with a lot of memories and I treasure it because it is where I learnt my tricks of trade. I also stayed here for six years after pursuing my bachelor’s degree in Education (Arts) – English Language and Literature. I share these bragging rights, because this is the place where our founding father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta attended school in his fledgling age.
Thogoto has two universities, one teacher-training college, five secondary schools and five primary schools. This is where we find the two crème de la crème schools: Alliance High School and Alliance Girls’ High School. There is also the Kikuyu Mission Hospital, one of the best eye hospitals in Kenya. This is attributed to the Church of Scotland, now the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). The church, hospital, schools and cool climate, made this place to be akin to Scotland.
In 1891, East Africa Scottish Mission (EASM) commissioned six missionaries to Kenya. The first mission centre was established at Kibwezi. From the six missionaries, only Thomas Watson survived. He battled smallpox and moved from Kibwezi to Fort Smith in Dagoretti where he was joined by John Patterson. They edged to Thogoto, purchased 30 acres of lush land and established a camp.
When the railway line reached Kikuyu in 1899, Thomas Watson travelled to Mombasa by train to meet the love of his life, Minnie Cumming. They tied the knot at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) station at Freetown near Mombasa and decided to get back to Kikuyu where they met many miseries and misfortunes.
In 1900, Watson and Minnie established a camp to take care of smallpox victims and those stricken by severe starvation. They started a day school for children from the camp and an evening school for young men who worked at the mission.
On December 4, 1900, Thomas Watson succumbed to the cruel claws of pneumonia. This sowed sorrow in the heart of Minnie but she chose to carry on.
1n 1901, EASM transferred the mission mandate to the Church of Scotland.
Dr. D. Clement Ruffelle, a Scott from Blantyre Mission in Nyasaland was brought on board to spearhead the mission. They formed a formidable force with Minnie Watson. The mission dream team and the colonial government combined efforts and started the first boy’s boarding school which had only seven boys. By 1920, the school population had ballooned to 3,000.
Minnie Watson returned to her homeland in 1931 and was promoted to glory in 1949.
On March 1, 1926, Alliance of the Protestant Churches started the Alliance High School, a well of knowledge that was dug by four churches: Methodist Church, Africa Inland Church (AIC), Church of the Province of Kenya (CPK), currently known as the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), and Church of Scotland Mission which later morphed to Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).
Alliance High School churned out men of substance like Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Charles Njonjo and Anyang’ Nyong’o amongst others. African Girls’ High School, which is now known as Alliance Girl’s High School, came into existence in 1948. It has produced women of great heft and weight like the late Margaret Ogola, Micere Githae Mugo and Charity Ngilu amongst others.
PCEA church has grown and given birth to more parishes all over East Africa. It has promoted education in Kenya by starting and sponsoring many schools, colleges and one university – the Presbyterian University of East Africa (PUEA).
The writer is an author of academic and self-help books. He can be reached through email at vochieng.90@gmail.com
