Starehe Boys Director Josphat Mwaura Replaced by Fredrick Okono
Starehe Boys Centre will have a new director in January, bringing an end to a lengthy hunt for an incumbent leader for one of Kenya’s greatest secondary schools, which has produced leaders in all fields of industry and government.
Fredrick Okono will take over full responsibility for the center’s day-to-day operations on January 1, 2024, succeeding Josphat Mwaura, who has served as volunteer director since April 2018. Mr Okono was named director-designate on July 1, 2023, as part of a new framework designed by the management committee to manage the succession in the aftermath of founding director Geoffrey Griffin’s death in June 2005.
In a letter addressed to the Starehe community and stakeholders, David Mureithi, the chairman of the management committee, reported that Mr. Okono has collaborated closely with Director Josphat Mwaura for the past five years.
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Initially serving as the head of operations and subsequently as deputy director from August 2020, Mr. Okono, an alumnus of Starehe, devoted 17 years to the institution, with 15 of those years working closely alongside the founding director as a teacher.
The school has historically been a strong force in national examination achievement, but has struggled to maintain its position at the top in recent years.
The announcement says that the transition framework will set up a process that will be built into the center’s governance tools. As part of this process, a director-designate will be chosen early on and will work with the current director before the final transfer.
It is usual for an exiting director to remain on the Management Committee and the Board. Mr Mwaura will continue to serve on both the committee and the board in this matter. He formerly served as the CEO of KPMG East Africa.
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Following Dr Griffin’s death in June 2005, his co-founder Joseph Kamiru Gikubu served as director-general for a short time before passing away six months later. Prof Jesse Mugambi, Matthew Kithyaka, and Charles Masheti have also served as directors of the centre.
Mr. Mwaura told the Nation that the Starehe experience has been more challenging than running his firm. He expressed that it’s been about his personal story and the transformation Starehe brought to his life. His motivation for supporting the school is to assure another generation that they too can benefit from the promise of Starehe. He highlighted the responsibility of being accountable for the lives of the students, particularly when 70 percent of them come from humble backgrounds.
In his role at Starehe, he has had to act as a counselor and an inspiration to the students, which has provided him with insights into the challenges facing our society. Mr. Okono has also worked as Mr. Gikubu’s personal assistant, senior master Form II, assistant director (Administration), assistant director (Tertiary Education), and dean of the Technical Training Institute.
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In the letter, Mr. Mureithi noted that the individual possesses a deep understanding of The Starehe Way, which they have effectively implemented throughout the transformation process in recent years.
According to Mr Mwaura, the school had 1,173 students at the end of the previous semester.
The school has 68 teachers, but only 30 of them are under the employment of the Teachers Service Commission, creating a staffing challenge.
Dr Griffin, Mr Gikubu, and Geoffrey Gatama Geturo started Starehe Boys Centre in 1959. Former Cabinet Secretary for Education George Magoha, Peter Ndegwa, Peter Kenneth, Irungu Nyakera, and Raphael Tuju are among its notable alumni.
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Starehe Boys Director Josphat Mwaura Replaced by Fredrick Okono
