The DP owned his ‘bad boy’ tag recalling how he was caught up in countless mistakes and the life and times at the school located in Kirinyaga county for six years of his studies between 1977 and 1983.
He reminisced how the h**d teacher at the time – Julius Kano Ndumbi shaped him through tough correction saying he beat him more than 400 times.
He added that although he deemed him unfair, he is grateful he mentored him.
“I came with my sons for them to know that in the beginning, I was not a very good person. I was keeping bad company. We were in all sorts of things, and I was losing it. And because this great mentor had seen something in me, he decided to work on me.
“And he was extremely vicious and rough, and I found him very unfair. Today, looking back, Mwalimu I want to say thank you. This principal beat me more than 400 times, I can remember. He used to give us what he used to call the best of six; strokes of the cane,” he stated.
Gachagua further revealed that he was infested with j*****s and lice but bore it all until he cleared school.
“I lived in Ndagana house, cubicle number 6 and I was there today and I sat on the bed that I slept in for six years. We had problems. We came with j*****s. Our feet were j****r infested. We had lice; both black and white. We had problems and we struggled and God being gracious, here we are today,” he recalled during his visit 40 years after clearing school.
As his norm, the second in command visited his former school bearing goodies where he gifted the students half a million for a midterm bash and promised to buy the school a new bus.
This, he said is a motivation for the boys to work hard while challenging them to make him proud by posting excellent grades.
“Kabla sijatoka, lazima ni wapangie bash kidogo kidogo ya midterm. So kwa vijana, hata kama tutakula lunch, nitaacha Ksh500,000 ya vijana hawa halafu mtapanga maneno yenu. Waalimu nitawapangia Ksh200,000 na wale subordinate staff tutawapangia Ksh100,000.
“You’ve requested that you want me to provide for you with a 62-seater Scania bus; I’ll do so. Lakini nyinyi wacha tukubaliane; if we put all this money in Kianyaga, we must get something in return. All those things we have promised here are pegged on a mean score of 10+. You cannot be below 10 when I’m the Deputy President. Let the school that I went to be on the national map. Please dignify me,” he urged.
