Mwai Kibaki Holy Ghost College 1947 report card surfaces revealing impressive record

The report card lifts the lid on Kibaki's stay at Holy Ghost College where he was ranked first in a class of '32 and shows his exemplary performance with several As dotting the card.

Kibaki scored an impressive 779 marks in total to top his class.

He showed his brilliance in History and Geography, scoring 70 and 86 marks respectively while in Mathematics which was split into Arithmetic, Geometry and Algebra he scored 77, 66, and 78 respectively.

Kibaki's report card issued in 1947 surfaces, revealing his impressive record Pulse Live Kenya

Kibaki's journey in academia started when he was sent to mission school by his peasant father, Kibaki Githinji who believed that he was “not very useful in the garden” hence opted to send him to school.

Kibaki's tribute reads in part: "In 1939 a barefoot Kibaki left home for the newly established, 50 cent-a-term Gatuyaini village school put up by the Consolata Missionaries. Here they taught the new arrivals catechism and elementary education. And thus started Mr Kibaki’s passionate association with education and his Catholic faith. It also launched a brilliant career in academics and politics."

Kibaki began his education at Gatuyaini Primary before proceeding to Holy Ghost Catholic Missionaries Karima Mission School (present-day Karima Primary).

Here, his thirst for education would see him walk 10 kilometres every day to and from school.

Kibaki passed his exams and was invited to join Mathari School, (now Nyeri High School) with his father selling two goats to pay the annual Ksh18 boarding fee.

He would learn carpentry and masonry before proceeding to Holy Ghost College, currently known as Mang'u High School in Kiambu.

Makerere University would be his next stop after excelling in his O level and he set a new record, becoming the first African to graduate with a first-class honours degree.

Kibaki joined the institution in 1951 for a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, History and Political Science and his stint at the institution would also see him serve as Vice Chairman of the Makerere Students Guild (1954-1955).

He then won a scholarship to study at a university of his own choice in the UK, settling for the prestigious London School of Economics where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (BSc) in public finance.