January 13, 2004, 15:45
An 84-year-old Kenyan grandfather has joined primary school to learn to read, after the government introduced free primary education last year, Kenyan daily newspapers reported today. Kimani Murage, who has 30 grandchildren, said he hopes to become a veterinarian.
His classmates' average age is seven, and two of his grandchildren attend more advanced classes in the same school in Kenya's Eldoret district, some 270km northwest of the capital Nairobi.
Jane Obinchu, the headmistress, told the Daily Nation the school first thought Murage's interest was a joke. "So we told him to come this year in first term, then we could see about it. It was a total surprise when he showed up - in school uniform!" she was quoted as saying.
Murage said he was part of the Mau Mau movement that fought against British colonial rule in Kenya in the 1950s, and wanted to learn to read so he could count his hoped for compensation. "When they start paying us, I do not want any young man... trying to rob me of my money due to illiteracy," Murage told the East African Standard.
Kenya registered the Mau Mau movement in November, which lawyers said could help surviving fighters obtain compensation. - Reuters
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