Kimani Maruge

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge (c. 1920 – August 14, 2009) holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to leave primary school—he enrolled in the first grade on January 12, 2004, aged 84.[1] Although he had no papers to prove his age, Maruge believed he was born in 1920 however he had the physical appearance of someone slightly younger.

Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya; he said that the government's announcement of universal and free elementary education in 2003 prompted him to enroll.

In 2005 Maruge, who was a model student, was elected head boy of his school.

In September 2005, Maruge boarded a plane for the first time in his life, and headed to New York City to address the United Nations 2005 World Summit on the importance of free primary and secondary education for all.[2]

Final years

Maruge's property was stolen by looters during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, and he contemplated quitting school.[3] During early 2008 he lived in a refugee camp, where he was reportedly a minor celebrity, four kilometers from his school, but still attended classes every day.[4] In June 2008, he relocated to the capital Nairobi.[5]

In June 2008, Maruge was forced to withdraw from school and relocate to a retirement home for senior citizens.[6] However, soon after, on June 10, 2008, Maruge enrolled once again into Standard 6 at the Marura primary school, located in the Kariobangi area of Nairobi.

Film

A feature film about Kimani Maruge starring Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris titled The First Grader was released on May 13, 2011. The British-produced film was shot in the Rift Valley in Kenya.

Baptism

On Sunday May 24, 2009, Maruge was baptized at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kariobangi and took the Christian name Stephen, in honor of St. Stephen.[7]

Maruge was then using a wheelchair.[7]

Maruge was a widower, and a great-grandfather (two of his 30 grandchildren attend the same school and helped him study for his finals). He was a fighter in the Mau Mau Uprising against the British colonizers in the 1950s.

Death

Maruge died on August 14, 2009, of stomach cancer, at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi.[8] He was buried at his farm in Subukia.[9]

Google Doodle

On 12 January 2015, on the 11th anniversary of his first day of school, Google's homepage Google Doodle was about Kimani Maruge.[10]

References
  1. BBC News, May 25, 2004: Kenya's record-breaking OAP pupil
  2. BBC News, September 8, 2005: Kenya OAP school pupil flies high
  3. The Standard, January 14, 2008: Displaced Maruge may miss school
  4. Globe and Mail, March 20, 2008: Kenya's 88-year-old schoolboy
  5. The Standard, June 7, 2008: Maruge relocates to Nairobi
  6. BBC, June 6, 2008: Kenyan OAP pupil taken into care
  7. Daily Nation, May 24, 2009: Oldest pupil now seeks to be listed in Book of Life
  8. The Standard, August 15, 2009: World's oldest pupil, Stephen Maruge, dies
  9. The Standard, August 26, 2009: Heroic sendoff for world's oldest pupil Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Google Doodle: 11th Anniversary of Kimani Maruge's First Day of School
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