Cardinal Otunga High School Mosocho on the road to reclaiming former glory

Cardinal Otunga High School Mosocho was established following a request from the then Kisii Diocese Bishop, His Eminence Maurice Cardinal Otunga in 1957.

It was meant to host missionaries teaching in the new diocese carved out of Kisumu in 1960.

The school is located in Mosocho along Kisii-Kisumu Highway, Kisii County.

The school started in 1960 and its first patch of candidates sat for their final examination in 1964.

64% of them passed and this was considered a good start under the pioneer headmaster, Austin Were.

The school gained fame and became Nyanza Province’s favorite.

According to Chief Principal Chrispinus Owino, the school has produced great men who have been key in driving the economy of the country.

He attributes the school’s success story to discipline and focus set to meet targets.

Speaking during this year’s alumni meeting held at the school recently, the Chief Principal noted that the school is working towards reclaiming its lost glory.

He said that he is determined to bring back the academic powerhouse that the school used to be.

He also affirmed that the school is determined to maintain the upward trajectory exhibited in the past four years.

“We have had an upward trend for the last four years and we are not sliding back anymore.

We are determined to maintain this trend so that the true image of Cardinal Otunga Mosocho is restored,” he confirmed.

He further explained that they want to make the school great again and keep it at the top of the academic chart.

With regard to the school motto, “Use Common Sense”, Mr. Owino says that it requires the boys to concentrate on education while in the school so that they become useful to the community in the near future.

The school attained a mean score of 5.9 in 2018’s KCSE’s examinations, a positive deviation of 0.6 points from 2017’s 5.33.

In 2019/20, the school saw the mean rise to 7.29 whereas in 2020/21, the 290 candidates who sat for the year’s KCSE recorded a mean of 7.69, the highest in the recent years.

Out of the 290 candidates, 217 scored C+ (plus) and above translating to 74.83% pass rate to university.

In this year’s examinations, the school has a target of 8.56, and Mr. Owino says it’s achievable.

The Board of Management (B.O.M) chairman, Father James Obaigwa urged the old boys to make their alma mater a better place for future generations.

“The school has built you and shaped you. See how useful you have become! It’s now time to give back to the school and make it even better for other users,” Fr Obaigwa said.

“We all have to agree that this has been the best school and we need to make more useful citizens from this institution,” he urged.

During the event, Dr. Herbert Orang’o, an analytical lecturer at Kisii University urged the boys to work hard and concentrate in shaping their future.

“This is undoubtedly the best school we have around here. I therefore urge you who have joined this school to know that you are in the best school in the country and leave the school better and responsible citizens,” he said.

Mr. Kennedy Momanyi Ombati, an alumnus, who is the chief officer for economic planning in Nakuru County, urged the students to keep to their dream and not to indulge in unbecoming behavior and peer pressure.

“Life never loses value; it may twist you a bit but know your value. Don’t accept to be misused, keep your lane and success will follow you,” he reminded the learners.

Another old student is Gabriel Mwendwa, who left the school in 2005 and has since become a successful entrepreneur in interior design.

Though school fee was a challenge to Mwendwa and affected his academic performance, he says that this did not deter him from achieving his dream of being successful.

“I left Otunga Mosocho in 2005 with a D+ grade but that didn’t discourage me from making my life better,” he said.

“Although I have had to struggle a little bit in life, I can now comfortably say that I am where I wanted to be. I now own my own company of designs and have employed over 50 staff. Let not the grades deceive you, they don’t determine who you become, there is more to be done after school,” says Mwendwa.

Mwendwa is the founder of Kijana Msafi Interior Designs, which is based in Mombasa County.

The president of the old boys dubbed Cardinal Otunga Mosocho Millennial Caucus, Dr. Erick Obwoge, said that they have planned to give back to the school.

The Caucus is renovating the library to a modern one which befits the school’s stature.

He said that the project will be the first as the team looks into more other areas of need to be addressed.

“For the start, we have decided to renovate our library. This is where we all studied from. We will do the tiling of the floor and modernize the whole structure so that the boys can have a humble learning environment,” he said.

Dr. Obwoge is the senior mid-wife at the Bondo Sub-County Hospital in Siaya County.

The event brought together other alumni such as Dr. Mainya Nyabaro of Kisii University, Eng. Joel Nyawita­, an engineering consultant based in Nairobi, Gibson Omariba, Journalist Ronald Mayaka based in Kisii, Vincent Nyang’au, who works with the National Construction Authority (NCA) and Naftal Omari Migisi, a local artiste also known as MC Miggy among others.

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