Father of six in high school

At 41, one would expect Mr Kayian Lengete to be busy looking after his cows in Kajiado plains, the way fellow Maasai villagers do. But he is a student. With six children.

Mr Lengete is a Form Two student at Thomas Fish Secondary School in his Mashuru village in Sultan Hamud, Kajiado Central District.

Born in Rangau Village in 1968, Mr Lengete enrolled in 1983 as a Standard One pupil at Mashuru Primary School before transferring to Elnamen Primary School in Konza in 1985 after his parents migrated to the area looking for pasture. Drought had ravaged his village the year before.

He sat the primary national exams in 1989 and scored 421 marks out of the possible 700. This saw him admitted to Olkejuado Boys High School, but he dropped out in 1990 at the beginning of Form Two; his father had died and there was nobody to pay his fees.

“Several relatives shunned me. One told me to choose between selling the three remaining cows — and driving my family into poverty — and looking after them to increase their numbers”.

“My father lost a substantial herd in 1984, and this forced us to move from Rangau,” he said. He was sitting his weekly exams when the Nation went visiting last Saturday. His school uniform, coupled with his lean body, belied his age. He had returned to school after 19 years.

“I have seen what it means out there without a certificate,” he said after sitting the chemistry paper where he hoped to score an A. “Without education, life is difficult and no one can respect you. We must shift from our cultural beliefs and face the fast-changing world,” he said.

When he dropped out of school, he was employed as a watchman in Mombasa for three months before shifting to Nairobi after life became “so expensive”. He then earned Sh600.

Politicians promised

After 2007, he vowed not to be involved in politics. “Every politician promised me a job after the elections,” he said. “Even in 2007, they promised me a job. I told them I was not interested in a job. I wanted to go back to school. They laughed.”

The post-election violence almost ended his dreams. But after the Grand Coalition Government was formed, he went to see the headmaster of Mashuru Primary School — then the head of Thomas Fish Secondary — for admission.

“I had consulted with my family members. Nobody believed me. My father-in-law came and asked to know what was happening. He had only heard it from friends.”

His wife Leah Lengete was incredulous and asked him to abandon his mission since they now had children in school.
When he told them he could not change his mind, nobody came to his support. “Even fellow villagers said I should not be given a place, saying I was the age mate of parents,” he said.

He then approached the area education office and met education officer Eunice Kuta. “She encouraged me and said no one could deny me admission.” She then called the headmaster who admitted him.

According to headteacher Stephen Lekasi, Mr Lengete “is leading by example both as a parent and student. His good grades show he his dedicated. He was leading in almost all subjects last term. There is hope in him.”

Mr Lengete said he had planned his time well and he could not miss school even a single day. “I will not miss school. I have time with my children in the evening and we revise together. I also help them with their homework.”

His ambition is to join the University of Nairobi and pursue a degree in social studies. “I hope to work with non-governmental organisations since my age cannot allow me to join the military, which was my childhood dream.

“I will complete secondary school when I am 43 years old... This will be nearing the retirement age in the public service.”

His only worry is school fees. He says he may not be able to raise the Sh11,000 required in school so far, since he also has a brother who he pays for in Form One. “Almost all my cows have died from drought since I did not move from this place,” he said.

He says he only feels intimidated at times when children younger than his 10-year-old son call him a school child. “Wananiita mtoto wa shule (They call me school child),” he said, “but I have to swallow my pride because I am in school.”

His role model is Stephen Maruge, the primary school octogenarian pupil, who died recently. “The old man inspired me. It is good to have hope all the time.”