The politics of secondary school education in Western Kenya: Factors behind the establishment of friends school Kamusinga, 1950-1957

Abstract

This paper discusses the educational activities of the Friends African Mission (F.AM) in Western Kenya during the colonial period. The paper analyses the politics that surrounded the establishment of the Friends Secondary School, initially meant for Kaimosi but later relocated to Kamusinga in 1957. It is a historical study which mainly utilized primary sources of data; archival materials and oral interviews with people that were conversant with the topic. Secondary sources of data were mainly derived from text books and other printed materials to supplement the primary ones. The study revealed that serious educational disparities among the northern Friends and the political activities of Dini Ya Msambwa (D. Y.M.), forced the Colonial Government to relocate the Friends Secondary School from Kaimosi to Kamusinga in 1957.