Top achievers recall life as election IDPs

For the best boy and girl in the 2009 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination, December 29, 2007 will remain indelibly imprinted on their minds.

On that day, Peter Kamenju’s and Risper Kirui’s worlds turned upside down, barely two years before they could sit the examination. The announcement of the outcome of the presidential election and the events that followed rendered their future uncertain.

The two found themselves among the thousands of people displaced by the ensuing violence from different parts of the country. More than 1,000 people died in the mayhem.

Promising pupil

Peter had been a promising pupil at St Joseph’s Academy in Kakamega while Risper had been among the best at St Mary’s Primary School in Molo.

“The area in which our school lies was badly hit by the post-election violence. It was a while before both teachers and pupils felt it was safe enough to go back to school,” said Risper. Molo has experienced violence during or after every General Election since 1992.

The fighting pitting ethnic communities against each other saw Risper drop out of school until things cooled down. She was later enrolled at Londiani Academy for a while and then resumed studies at her old school.

Not so lucky

But for Peter Kamenju, living with his family in Kakamega was not so lucky. There was no going back to his old school. He neither had the opportunity to reconnect with his long-time friends nor his teachers whom, he says, had done a great job in moulding him through the years.

“We were displaced from Kakamega and had to leave. There was too much violence during that time,” he says. Together with his family, they began their journey from Kakamega to Thika.

“I knew I had to change schools and I was fearful at first about how I would fare. But, through the support of family and friends and through prayer, I was confident I would make it,” said Peter.

On the day the KCPE results were announced, Peter was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the Kenyan flag and the following words: “One country, many people, one family. The spirit of nationalism.” And he says he harbours no ill feelings towards those responsible for the violence that resulted in the displacement of his family.

“It still makes no sense to me why we had to fight each other, but all I know is that if God has destined good things to come your way, nothing will stop them from doing so. We should realise that there is a bigger plan out there for us and we should not try and mess it up through violence,” he says.

He wants to work in Kenya and, in spite of the memories of the violence that drove him away from his previous life, his faith in the country of his birth is unshaken. “Kenya is home,” he says.

Just like Peter Risper, too, is proud to be Kenyan despite being a victim of the senseless violence. “At the end of the day, we are all Kenyans. And our country should be the basis of what we do for ourselves and for each other,” Risper told the Sunday Nation.