THE MASENO STUDIUM GENERALE

Centre of Learning and Reputation
By Prof. Gilbert E.M Ogutu

In December 1892, Alfred Herbert Tucker, the Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, passed through Western Kenya on his way to Buganda. In his diary he wrote:

The response of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) was prompt. In less than a year, specifically in April 1894, Rev. William Arthur Crabtree and Rev. Frank Rowling arrived at Mumias prospecting for a mission station.

Meanwhile, following the Berlin Conference on winter 1884/85, which partitioned Africa into European spheres on influence, Western Kenya, which was then part of the Eastern Province of Uganda, fell under the British sphere in influence. Late in 1894, Charles William Hobley (Bwana Obilo) established a British administration station at Mumias, along Sclater's road. This followed his (Hobley) general tour of the whole of the Lake Region that was inhabited by a people whose young warriors, armed with spears, bows, arrows, and clubs, sat on their heels, which, in Kiswahili means kaa virondo. The region was referred to as Kavirondo, and the inhabitants were pejoratively called wa-Kavirondo - people who sit on their heels. The inhabitants of this area were mainly the Nilotic-speaking Luo and the Bantu-speaking Luyia. To pacify the hostile natives, a number of punitive expeditions were carried out between 1894 and 1908.

In December 1901, Ronald Preston, the Uganda Railway engineer realized his dream for the 600 mile Uganda Railway: what one author later referred to as The Lunatic Express. The rail-head touched the lake at a port which Preston named after his wife Florence Preston, hence port Florence. The port settlement was at the head of a gulf and the emergent town was later named Kisumu, a corruption of the administrative location of Kisumu.

Meanwhile, in December 1899, Colonel Ternan, acting for C.W Hobley, moved the administrative headquarters from Mumias to port Florence. In 1902 the Eastern Province of Uganda was transferred to Kenya. The transfer brought into Kenya the greater Nyanza, comprising the present Nyanza and Western Provinces as well as Trans-Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Nandi, Kericho and Bomet districts in the present Rift Valley Province.

The arrival of the railway line led to unprecedented influx of Christain missionaries, among whom were the Friends African Inland Mission (Quakers) from Ohio in the U.S.A. The team, led by Willis Ray Hotchkiss, established a mission station at Kaimosi in1902.

The colonial administration, concerned about the need for literate native leadership, encouraged the newly recruited chiefs to send their sons for literary education at Kaimosi in the hope that the boy would later replace their illiterate fathers. The sons of chiefs from the warm lakeshore area, inhabited predominantly by the Luo, found Kaimosi not only too far given that they had to traverse the unfamiliar terrain on foot, but the weather was also prohibitive. The Luyia boys were not welcoming to the foreign Luo boys. The language barrier and culture clash was well pronounced, given that the Luo and the Maragoli had been in direct contact. A mission station among the Luo was the only solution to the nagging predicament.

In 1905 James Jamieson Willis was sent by Bishop Tucker to make further prospecting missions in the Lake Region. Following his extensive tour of the Luo area, Archdeacon Willis (Bwana Ogore) pitched his tent under an Oseno (Coclia Ovalis) tree, close to the home of his host, Ogola wuon Oyieke. The station was named Maseno, after the Coclia Ovalis (Oseno). The following year (1906), he (Willis) founded a Normal School at Maseno, with six of the chief's sons who had been to Kaimosi as the nucleus. A church, St. Paul's Chapel - The Rock of Ages, was also built next to the Oseno. The fear of the Lord preceded acquisition of knowledge and wisdom.

The Mission had followed the Flag among the Luo. Or, did they come together? What mattered then was, the impact literary education at Maseno would have on the surrounding areas and peoples.

Formal education at Maseno attracted young boys from all over Western Kenya. In the course of time, the British government also showed their special interest in the school as an instrument of influence and change. Maseno was to prepare the young men for clerical jobs in the railways, post office as well as teachers to man the schools which were mushrooming all over the place. Maseno was indeed a flag-bearer for education in the colony and protectorate of Kenya.Maseno school was a pace-setting experiment.

As fate might have it, sometimes in 1926, Edward Carey Francis, himself a Wrangler, that is, senior lecturer in mathematics at Cambridge, expressed strong interest in dropping his promising university career and coming out to Africa as missionary/teacher. In response to Francis's surprising interest, the CMS headquarters in collaboration with the Colonial Office, decided to post him (Carey Francis) to Maseno school. Arriving at Maseno school towards the end of 1927, Carey Francis worked at the school with total dedication until he was moved to Alliance High School in 1940. Francis's tenure as headmaster of Maseno school (1929-1940) pushed the school to greater heights of academic excellence. It was no accident that the subsequent headmaster of Maseno school namely, Arthur W. Mayor, B.L. Bowers, and Charles C. Southerland, were all graduates of Cambridge, a tradition that had triggered by Francis's efficiency. Through the dedicated work of the next longest serving headmaster, B.L. Bowers, Maseno school continued to excel. No wonder Maseno became a household name in Eastern Africa.

In brief, right from its inception, Maseno was an enviable Centre of Learning and Reputation in Kenya and East Africa. Soon the nationally domineering Maseno campus got expanded with the opening of a Veterinary Training Institute and a Teacher Training College at Siriba. The result was that a large centre of learning had been established right on the Equator.

By the time of Kenya's independence, in 1963, in place at Maseno were: Maseno School, Maseno Veterinary Training Institute, Maseno Teachers' Training College based at Siriba, and the modest Nurses' Training Hospital run by the Church Missionary Society.

As if to enhance further the scheme and policy of diversification at the Maseno campus, the Maseno Government Training Institute and Maseno Bible School for theological training were founded. It needs no emphasis therefore, that the colonial administration had bigger agenda for Maseno. No wonder, Maseno has, over the years, been a symbol of nothing other than Centre of Learning and Reputation. With a broad-based University-like campus established; an enviable centre for academic excellence was in place and Maseno was the place. To be among the alumni of Maseno was no mean achievement in life. This should explain the pride of Maseno Old Boys wherever they are to be found, and in whatever capacity they are serving. Dedication to duty and prompt production of results became their enviable trademark. Sinani e lweny: Kinda e Teko remained the motto and driving force. If one did not go to Maseno, then where did one go to school!

In 1990, the Government of the Republic of Kenya decided to convert the Maseno Teachers Training College (Siriba College) and the Government Training Institute into Maseno University College, as Constituent College of Moi University - Eldoret. Under the dynamic leadership of Professor William Robert Ochieng' Maseno University College developed everything it takes to be a fully- fledged University. The College had developed more degree programs than were at the more established national universities.

It is small wonder therefore, that on Friday, March 3, 2000, the Government of Kenya published, through the Kenya Gazette, a Bill establishing Maseno University. For three days (14-16 November, 2000) the Maseno University Bill was debated and passed as an Act of Parliament. What a day, Thursday November 16, 2000 must have been for the stakeholders of Maseno! Four months later, on Thursday 8, 2001, I had the privilege of personally witnessing the inauguration of Maseno University by the giving of the Instruments of Incorporation, namely, The Act; The Mace; The Seal; and The Crest. The dream had, finally, come true.

For this, the Maseno stakeholders must thank the Government of Kenya and, in particular the former President, His Excellency Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, first, for his foresight in making Maseno a Constituent College of Moi University, with him (President Moi) as the first graduand (D.litt.) as well as the first Chancellor.

Of interest to us, in this millennium, is the realization of the fact that the Culture of Academic Excellence that James Jamieson Willis initiated, with humble beginnings in 1906, is being bequeathed to a fully-fledged Maseno University. The foundation was laid on a rock - the Word of God. No wonder the building has remained stable and Maseno has survived the rigors of change and continuity, with neither peer nor rival.

While we appreciate and thank God that Maseno University College has finally become a fully-fledged University, independent of Moi University, the nagging question which remains is: what is a University? Going by her far-flung impressive legacy, can the nascent Maseno University be a vehicle for development in the 21st century Kenya?

Maseno, as we have seen, was meant for the production of top-quality manpower, the miniature replicas of what Oxford and Cambridge produced for Great Britain and Commonwealth. The enviable Maseno molding process was based on the 3Cs: Character, Conduct and Class-work.

Against the foregoing background, it should come as no surprise that one gets tempted to turn to Oxford and Cambridge, were one to get some idea as to which direction the nascent Maseno University must move. The challenge is critical because Maseno University has to meet the expectations of the myriad alumni of Maseno. The local communities, the Kenyan government and public, the world and the entire human race have their eyes fixed on Maseno, for direction and guidance in matters relating to human survival, dependent on sound schooling in the philosophies, humanities science and technology. Maseno's impact and influence as a center and/or fountain of academic excellence had gone beyond the borders of Kenya. The tradition must continue. How then did modern universities come to be?

A university, defined by the renowned schoolmen during the European renaissance as Studium Generale - Centre of Learning and Reputation - was established at Oxford in 1165, following students' riot at the University of Paris, that led to the dismissal, scatter and migration of foreign students. A handful of English students came home and were housed at the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin at Oxford.

University of Paris had also grown out of the Cathedral School of Notre Dame. Thus the rise of pioneer modern universities, Paris (1150) and Oxford (1165) was a church affair. These medieval pioneer universities were made up of students and their masters (the professors). The rest were, by definition, support staff. And that is the reality and the needful separation of identity a young university like Maseno should adhere to and enforce.

The combination of geographical situation, commercial prosperity, monastic splendor, and royal favour was probably enough to account for Oxford as the setting for the growth of a studium generale. In 1209 the citizens of Oxford hanged some students for an alleged murder, and the University dispersed to Cambridge. Thus murder, hanging, riot and dispersal created Cambridge in 1209.

Maseno, whose origins, like those of Oxford and Cambridge, was a church affair has, over the years, produced the cream of African scholars in Kenya. One needs only to peruse through the Calendars of Kenya's national universities, to discover, howbeit astonishingly, that more than 60% of the senior professors are products of Maseno.

Maseno means nothing other than Center of Learning and Reputation. Maseno was therefore a Studium Generale, that is, the University, before it become University. The founding of a University at Maseno has not only been long overdue but is a clear case of uncalled-for missed opportunity. But, better late than never. The University has finally come. The challenge is with us, the stakeholders. My only concern, and which I consider to be the concern of all the other concerned stakeholders of Maseno, is, What kind of a university must Maseno University be developed into?

My dream for and of the Maseno University we expect could be biased and subjective. This is because I am myself a product of both Maseno School and Siriba College. Maseno, in fact, prepared me for Makerere and Oxford universities where I undertook my undergraduate and doctoral studies, respectively. While at Oxford, I also took courses on Contemporary African History, at Trinity College, Cambridge.

The twinning of Oxford and Cambridge would be the pride of any Maseno Old Boy. Be that as it may, Maseno University, must of necessity, be unique. Geographically it is bound to be unique because it is the only University in the world that is sitting right on the Equator. It is also unique because it is centrally situated to serve the three East African countries. Given the inevitability that Maseno University will be a service university to the three east African countries,

What is a university that Maseno University ought to be? A university in the modern sense, could be defined as: a place of teaching universal knowledge; a community of scholars and students engaged in pursuit of the truth; a community dedicated to acquiring and propagating knowledge; or a place for discovery, development and transmission of knowledge. One can apply whatever definition one chooses.

However, what is essential for the existence of a university are:

From the foregoing definitive recast, what will distinguish Maseno University from mediocre universities is adherence to the prime role of a university, namely, that a university is to search for knowledge to be communicated to a wide public.

To achieve this goal, the mission and priority of Maseno University should be to engage in;

The riparian communities and stakeholders expect a Maseno University where sound scholarship over-rides all else. We hope for a university where professors, being role models and academic heads of their disciplines, take pride in research, discoveries and publications and not mere parroting of works of other scholars or just reel out that which has been discovered and developed by others. We look forward to a Maseno University where the students are kept adequately busy in pursuit of knowledge that they would have neither the time nor the energy for petty and irrelevant engagements. We need a Maseno University that, through research and experimentation, will register relevant impact on the national as well as the riparian communities' development agenda.

The Maseno University must covert the malignant poverty of the Lake Region into sustainable prosperity. Maseno University must change the City of Kisumu and the satellite urban centers into industrial citadels. Maseno University must be pride of west Kenyan societies and the rest of the country. The Maseno University must not mean anything else but; Studium Generale - Centre of Learning and Reputation; because that is what the concept university means in the first place, and that is what helped in laying the foundation for the pioneer English-speaking Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Given that the City of Kisumu offers all the services that Maseno University needs, the City of Kisumu must become a university, that is, the classical culture of twinning Town and Gown must apply to Kisumu City and Maseno University. A City Campus is an inevitable necessity. Thank God the university has moved into the city in the name of the Grand University Hotel, Kisumu.

We have suggested that Maseno University must be unique. For Maseno University to be unique it will have to curve a niche for itself and chart out its path devoid of hangovers from 'parent' Moi University or be a replica of the other national universities. Being the first Third Millennium University in Kenya, Maseno University must not only play role model but should be an opportunity for change from the prevailing culture of riots, protests and closure common to our universities. Maseno University must, as of necessity, be a university with re-oriented thinking among the students and their teachers; where the powers of mind is used to reflect on, debate and persuade. The onus rests squarely on the management and administration of Maseno University. The challenge for the Vice-Chancellor together with his/her team of top administrators (the DVCs) remains to determine the mission, formulate the vision and set long and short-term realizable goals that are not utopian. Indeed, this is a tall order, but there is no short-cut to it, if Maseno University is to be a Model University, as it must be.

It is not mine nor is it aim of this reflection to determine the mission, formulate the vision and set the requisite short-term and long- term goals for Maseno University. However, being a concerned stakeholder, giving some pointers as to the requisite direction and suggesting viable priorities areas for Maseno University, as I have tried to do here, should not be out of place. At the same time, it is no secret that the riparian stakeholders communities are looking at the arrival of Maseno University as a dream become reality. To them, Maseno University is a gift from God, an answer to long time prayers and a fulfillment of perennial dreams that often culminated into apparent slumber and apathy. How then must Maseno University lighten the darkness of the riparian communities and drag them out of the bewildering poverty and stagnation?

The mission for Maseno, right from the inception of Maseno School in 1906, has been to transform the lives of the riparian communities by being responsive to their needs, aspirations and expectations. This has been in direct response to Bishop Alfred Tuckers's diary entry "can nothing be done… swarms of these ignorant people… promise them teachers." With the needed teachers provided from the top quality British universities and the local ones developed, Maseno has all along played the lead role in alleviating the stakeholders' POVERTY in its diversified form: poverty of direction, poverty of imagination, and poverty of enterprising vision. Through sound scholarship, research and publications, Maseno University will undoubtedly be better placed and rooted to enhance the challenging responsibility and symbolic character of a role model. With Maseno University at the academic helm, the general education in Nyanza will find its original form and remain the bastion and citadel of academic excellence.

Oxford and Cambridge were products of the European Renaissance. Given the current debate on African Renaissance, Maseno University must take queue and foster Cultural Revival through research and articulation of the descriptive, prescriptive and expressive indigenous culture of the riparian communities.

The rich west Kenyan culture that spills over into Tanzania and Uganda makes Maseno the ideal University to enforce cultural renaissance in the whole of East Africa. This role was once played with amazing success by the Makerere Luo Students League that later became Luo Students' League, Universities of East Africa (The League). Through their Annual Reunion, the League penetrated the society by way of public lectures, seminars, dance, drama, music, debates, sports and social work. Maseno University is being called upon to reactivate cultural revival in East Africa by being a cultural point of reference.

On the Economic Transformation of the riparian communities, Maseno University needs only to tap the resources of indigenous knowledge systems and refine and apply the same for the management of the mass of water at its door-step - Sango Nam Lolwe. The multi- billion shilling fish industry; the mass of water that could irrigate the often fallow land resource; the massive papyrus and wetland resource, name them. In brief, from the very word go, Maseno University must put in place strategies for exploiting abundant water, land and human resource to facilitate sustainable transformation of the Kenyan society. It is this role, of generating and disseminating relevant information and knowledge that made universities indispensable during the European renaissance. What of our much talked of Third Millennium Renaissance?

With sound scholarship and research, Maseno University should be able to unequivocally tell the people of Western Kenya: "You have no reason being poor. This is what we have discovered, this is what you need to do, play your part" How else would a University reward the taxpayers unless the university sheds off ivory tower mentality and get involved in the development of the society on whose meager resource it depends?

Maseno University is being beckoned to adhere to John Stuart Mill's dictum to effect that "poverty in any sense implying suffering, may be completely extinguished by the wisdom of society combined with good sense and providence of individuals." To completely shed off the ivory tower mentality, and to be seen to be doing so, Maseno University must borrow a leaf from Y.C. Yen the founder of Chinese Credo for Rural Transformation of the 1920s which says:

Go to the people,
Live among the people,
Learn from the people,
Work with the people,
Start from what the people know,
Teach by showing,
learn by doing,
Not a showcase but a pattern,
Not odds and ends but a system,
Not a piecemeal but an integrated approach,
Not to conform but to transform,
Not relief but release.

It is needless to stress that being a university student is one of the highest human experiences, and that being a university teacher is the most honorable means through which one could serve one's society. However, without freedom of inquiry, freedom of discussion and freedom of teaching, a university worth its salt cannot exist.

Also, in the words of the famous Franciscan scholar of the renaissance, St Bonaventura (1221-74), Maseno University must not succumb to the common inadequacy of secular universities, namely;

"Reading without repentance, knowledge without devotion, Research without impulse of wonder, prudence without the Ability to surrender to joy, action divorced from religion, Learning sundered from love, intelligence without humility, Study unsustained by divine grace, thought without the wisdom inspired by God"

Whatever effort Maseno University administrators, professors and their students must put in, for Maseno University to attain sustainable impact, it has to create development and research oriented Discipline, Schools and Constituent Colleges that are responsive to the needs of the society, both at the national and local levels. This is a tall order. But it can be realized, so long as this "Third Millennium University" gives every student the baseline foundation of knowledge rooted in the cultural milieu and changed circumstances of our society. Such a foundation must reflect the philosophical, historical, psychological and anthropological tenets of the riparian communities and the wider regional and global society.

To sustain her quest for national as well as international relevance and credibility, what the 'infant' Maseno University needs is unwavering political good will and, more than anything else, an aggressive, visionary, hands-on and responsive leadership, in the person of the Vice Chancellor: The Chief Executive of the University. With a well- formulated and articulated mission statement, the Vice Chancellor together with his/her team of administrators should go beyond sheer management to providing result oriented leadership so as to steer Maseno University to greater heights of academic excellence.

With the foregoing in place, the sky will not be the limit but the beginning for The Maseno Studium Generale - Centre of Learning and Reputation. Meantime, it might do the current foundation-laying leadership of Maseno some good to ponder the words of the famous prayer of St Francis of Assisi;

Lord, make me an instrument of Your Peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon,
Where there is doubt, faith,
Where there is despair, hope,
Where there is darkness, light,
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek,
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand, To be loved as to love,
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

"Thanks and God bless the nascent Maseno Studium Generale."