The Alliance Girls High School (AGHS) Alumnae has announced the death of Abigail Kageha Indire, the first-ever student to be admitted to the renowned national girls’ secondary school.
While mourning Indire in a statement on Saturday, May 3, the AGHS Alumnae said that the deceased was admitted to the school in 1948 as admission number 1
She was admitted in the same year AGHS was founded by the Alliance of Protestant Missions in Kenya to serve African girls in the country.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved alumna, Mrs Abigail Kageha Indire, who was admitted to the Alliance Girls’ High School in 1948 as admission No. 001,” read part of the statement.
Alliance Girls Alumnae mourns Abigail Kageha Indire
According to the Alumnae, Abigail, together with her beloved husband, the late Professor Filemona Indire, on February 25th, 2024, participated in the Decade Groups’ Sunday Services.
The event brought together the AGHS alumnae in the Pioneer Classes of 1948-1959, as part of the year-long celebrations of her Alma Mater’s 75th Anniversary.
“She was a cherished member of her community, and her contributions will be deeply missed. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Mrs Abigail Indire’s family and friends during this time of grief. May Mrs Abigail Kageha Indire’s memory be a source of comfort and inspiration to us all,” the Alumnae added.
The founding of AGHS, which is one of the oldest high schools in Kenya, marked the beginning of a new phase in the education of African girls and women in the country.
Abigael was among the school’s first 10 girls to be admitted in 1948, who came from all the provinces in Kenya.
This made it one of the top five high schools in the country to offer a Higher School Certificate, which was the equivalent of A levels at that time.
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The first Alliance Girls’ student’s death comes more than a month after her husband Prof. Indire passed on.
Indire was a former Member of Parliament (MP) and Kenyan Ambassador born in March 1930, who served as a nominated lawmaker between 1983 and 1988.
Mudavadi mourns Prof. Filemona Indire
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Saturday, March 15, announced his death in a condolence message to his family, relatives and friends.
PCS Mudavadi mourned Indire as a thoroughbred educationalist and intellectual with a long history of firsts, adding that he had unlimited faith in the goodness of people.
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He added that the late Professor was a mentor who nurtured young minds as a lecturer and as a professor, inducted many into university lecturing.
Musalia further highlighted that Indire was the first professor of education in Kenya who spearheaded the establishment of Kaimosi Friends University (KAFU).
“Other than being among the first few African professors after Kenya’s independence, he was the first Professor of education in Kenya, and among the pioneer lecturers who were tasked with Africanising the then only University of Nairobi (UON),” said Mudavadi.
“To grow his stature as an academician, Prof. Indire displayed the virtues of patience; one with the perseverance of an Eagle; dedicated and passionate.”
Indire also served as Kenya’s Ambassador to Russia (then called the Soviet Union) in the 1960s during the tenure of Kenya’s first President, the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.
He then served as a lecturer at UoN and as the Chairman of Kenya’s National Council for Science and Technology in the 1970s.
Indire was also a member of the Commission of Inquiry into the Education System of Kenya, commonly referred to as the Davy Koech Commission, established in May 1998 by former President the late Daniel Arap Moi.
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