Maghoha : A final glance

                                   Magoha : A final glance 

By Moses Kibwana 

George Omore Magoha was a man liked and disliked in equal measure for his tough stand in matters related to his work. We all remember him for his no-nonsense attitude and how he stamped foot in the education sector. Most reforms in Education, especially the Competency Based Curriculum (CBC), are attributed to him. His desire to rank students based on their abilities was the last dance he did before he finally bowed out on Tuesday evening, the 24^th of January. He was an astute professor of Medicine, and his heart gave out to a cardiac arrest. But who was this man before all cameras turned attention to him?

Professor Magoha was born in the year 1952 in Gem. He attended primary school in Yala and Nairobi before proceeding to the Starehe Boys Center and Strathmore College for his high school education. Magoha was a bright student, evident in his thirst for Education and his precision in climbing the academic ladder.

Magoha secured a scholarship to pursue Medicine at the University of Lagos in Nigeria. He also trained in Ghana, Ireland and the United Kingdom, rising through the ranks to become a fully-fledged urological and transplant surgeon. He truly was a man who pursued life to the highest pinnacle of success. He was a scholar, even by the standards of this time.

In 1988, he returned to the country after furthering his studies. He joined the University of Nairobi as a lecturer in urological surgery before becoming a professor 12 years later, in 2000. During his tenure at the university, he served in different positions, including the chairman of the academic department of surgery, Dean of the School of Medicine and Principal of the College of Health Sciences.

 In 2005, Professor Magoha was appointed as the University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor due to his ambition, quick-thinking nature and practical leadership skills. During his leadership tenure at the university, he accomplished what his predecessors had failed to accomplish, including sanity and accountability of the finance department, as well as quality teaching and discipline of students.

He retired from the position in 2014, but due to his good record, he was appointed Chairman of the Kenya National Examinations Council in 2016, bringing a raft of changes. At KNEC, he demystified what he termed as Kenyans' Obsession with the A grade; as such, students were unable to eventually pursue courses such as Medicine and Engineering in the University comfortably.

In the year 2019, he was appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta as the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Education, where he championed the sanity of the examination process, as well as the 100% transition policy. At a time when the education reforms in the country faced a total shakedown, this man stood his ground amid the conflict. He served in this position until October 2022, when the new Cabinet Secretary, Ezekiel Machogu, took over after the August general election.

Magoha has been mourned by the political class and ordinary Kenyans as an astute statesman who went to extraordinary lengths to ensure that the job was done by his death. We learn the brevity of life and how it is fleeting to man. He is survived by his wife, Dr. Barbara Magoha, and his son Dr. Michael Magoha.