St. Mary’s School is an international day school founded in Parklands in September 1939, owned and managed by the Archdiocese of Nairobi.
In 1946, the school was moved to an 85-acre site on the land of St. Austin’s Parish, Muthangari.
St. Mary School began as a preparatory school and introduced secondary education in 1941. It now offers the Kenyan curriculum (KCPE and KCSE), IGCSE, and introduced the IB Diploma Programme in 1982.
St. Mary’s School has produced numerous prominent people over the years, including influential figures in politics, law, and business.
They include former President Uhuru Kenyatta, former Senator Gideon Moi, politician Jimi Wanjigi, media personality Jeff Koinange, and former Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo.
List of Influential Kenyans Who Went to St. Mary’s School
The following are some of the prominent Kenyans who studied at the St. Mary’s School.
Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru attended St Mary’s School in Nairobi and graduated in1979.
He studied political science at the Amherst College in the United States, where he graduated, and later returned to Kenya to launch a company, Wilham Kenya Limited.
Between 1979 and 1980, he worked as a teller at the Kenya Commercial Bank.
In 2001, he became Minister in the government of the late President Daniel Arap Moi. In December 2002, Uhuru ran as KANU’s presidential candidate but lost to the opposition candidate, former President Mwai Kibaki.
Afterwards, he campaigned for Kibaki’s re-election in December 2007 and was appointed Minister of Local Government in January 2008, and later served as Minister of Finance in the coalition government formed in April 2008.
Also Read: Uhuru Elevates Jeremiah Kioni in Major Jubilee Party Shake-up
In January 2012, Uhuru resigned as Minister of Finance following accusations by the ICC of perpetrating crimes against humanity in the aftermath of the 2007 election.
The former head of state left KANU in April 2012 and formed a new party known as The National Alliance (TNA) the following month. Later that year, he joined the Jubilee Coalition, a multiparty coalition.
Uhuru served as the president of Kenya for a decade, with President William Ruto as his Deputy.
Gideon Moi
Former Senator Gideon Moi attended St. Mary’s School, Nairobi, for his A-levels between 1981 and 1982.
Driven by his father’s presidency and the political legacy he inherited, Gideon entered politics, securing his father’s parliamentary seat in the 2002 general election.
However, he lost the Baringo Central MP’s seat in 2007 before being elected Baringo Senator.
From 2013 to 2022, Moi served as Senator for Baringo County for two consecutive terms.
In 2022, he hoped to run for president in the General Election but dropped his bid and supported Raila Odinga, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya flagbearer.
Gideon Moi is the chairman of the Kenya African National Union (KANU)
As chairman, he has achieved major milestones, including leading the party into a coalition agreement with the Jubilee Party.
However, the coalition agreement enabled President Kenyatta to displace several of Deputy President William Ruto’s allies from their leadership positions in the Senate.
Raychelle Omamo
Former CS Raychelle Omamo attended St. Mary’s School in Nairobi and later pursued a law degree at the University of Kent at Canterbury in the United Kingdom in 1982.
For her professional certification, she was admitted to the bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya in 1986.
In 2001, Raychelle became the first woman to be elected Chairperson of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), a role she held until 2003.
Raychelle Awuor Omamo was conferred the rank of Senior Counsel in 2012.
Under former President Uhuru Kenyatta, she served as the Cabinet Secretary for Defence from 2013 to 2020, becoming the first woman to lead this ministry in Kenya, and subsequently served as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs from January 2020 to October 2022.
She previously served as Kenya’s Ambassador to France, with accreditation to Spain, Portugal, the Holy See, and Serbia, and was the Permanent Representative of Kenya to UNESCO from 2003 to 2009.
Raychelle is currently serving as the Vice President of the East African Law Society and is a board member of various organizations, including AMREF Flying Doctors.
Also Read: Raila’s Family Pens Special Message to Ruto, Uhuru on His Birthday
Jimi Wanjigi
Politician and businessman Jimi Wanjigi is an alumnus of the prestigious St. Mary’s School in Nairobi,
Wanjigi’s business portfolio and deep connections within the political sphere have made him a pivotal figure in shaping Kenya’s political landscape.
In 2002, Jimi played an important role in the election campaign of the late former President Mwai Kibaki.
Wanjigi’s influence in the political arena continued to expand, and by 2013, he asserted that he played a crucial role in backing the Jubilee Coalition, which ultimately led to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s rise to power.
However, his relationship with the Jubilee administration deteriorated in 2014, prompting him to shift camp and declare his support for Raila Odinga’s National Super Alliance (NASA) during the 2017 elections. In 2022, Wanjigi declared interest in the presidency but failed to meet the requirements set by the IEBC.
Jeff Koinange,
Veteran news anchor Jeff Koinange attended St. Mary’s High School for his secondary school education, where he completed his A-levels in 1984.
Thereafter, he attained a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism at New York University from 1989 to 1991.
In 2005, he was the first African to win an Emmy for the coverage of the devastating famine in the West African nation of Niger.
In 2006, he received the George Foster Peabody Award for his coverage of the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. The same year, he got the Vernon Jarrett Bronze Medal for ‘Best Feature’ on ‘Mass Rapes in the Congo’.
He was honored by the third president of Kenya, the late Mwai Kibaki, with the Moran of The Burning Spear (MBS) in 2008, a title considered the highest honor to a Kenyan civilian for his contribution to journalism in Kenya, Africa, and internationally.
Jeff is currently serving as the host of JK Live on Citizen TV and a Radio Presenter at HOT 96 FM.
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