Onjiko High School: Where Miguna Miguna spent nights in the library for vocabulary.

Onjiko High School  is a boys’ boarding extra county school found in Ahero, Nyando Subcounty in Kisumu county. The school is situated along the Kisumu-Nairobi highway, 200 metres off the main road.

“Onjikse” as it is known by the old boys was first incepted in the 1930s by the African Inland Mission (now African Inland Church) as a Mission Primary School. In 1950s after the publication of Phelp’s Stoke Commission, it was elevated to become a Junior Secondary School and started offering A – Level studies to the students.

It is here at Onjiko where controversial lawyer Miguna Miguna spent burnt the midnight oil in the school library in order to build his English vocabulary.

Seated at an altitude of about 1160 metres above sea level within Kano plains, the institution fortunately is never adversely affected by the perennial floods that rock the area.

In academics, the school performs fairly well. In the 2020 KCSE exams, it recorded a mean of 5.802 with 70 student’s out of the 213 sealed direct entry to the university. In co curricular activities, it also performs well in different disciplines and they’ve represented the county to the national level more so in debate contests.

Most ex Onjiko student’s reveal that the school operated like a semi military camp as senior students commanded and demanded utmost respect from rookies (Form Ones). It is said that the senior students instructed Form Ones and two’s to do odd chores like washing of dirtiest games kits with a sliced bar soap measuring 2cm by 4cm and no excuses were heard!

Other memories that delve into the minds of Onjiko High old boys is how they were entitled to wade through the mud as they went to seek for future in the classrooms but pavements were later constructed in 2015.

The funny take about the school is that sometime back during the interschool soccer championships in the region, the school’s football team communicated in their native mother tongue of Dholuo!

Other famous alumni from the school who lived by the motto are controversial blogger Robert Alai, former Education PS Enos Oyaya, The University of Nairobi linguistic lecturer Dr Ikobwa Meja, Billy Kid Odhiambo, sports journalist and commentator Charles Onyango.

Also Dr James Nyikal, the MP of Seme constituency wore grey trousers, white shirts and navy blue tie at Onjiko High School.