Kimani Maruge
{{Short description|Oldest primary school pupil}}
Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge ({{circa|1920}} – August 14, 2009) was a Kenyan man who held the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to leave primary school, having enrolled on January 12, 2004, aged 84.BBC News, May 25, 2004: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3746101.stm Kenya's record-breaking OAP pupil] Although he had no papers to prove his age, Maruge believed he was born in 1920.
Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya. He said that the government's announcement of universal and free primary school education in 2003 prompted him to enroll.
In 2005 Maruge, who was a model student, was elected head boy of his school. He was handed the responsibility to orient and nurture the students in the school.
In September 2005, Maruge boarded a plane for the first time in his life. He was headed to New York City to address the United Nations 2005 World Summit on the importance of free primary and secondary education for all.BBC News, September 8, 2005: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4225824.stm Kenya OAP school pupil flies high]
Final years
Maruge's property was stolen by looters during the 2007–2008 post-election violence, and he contemplated quitting school.The Standard, January 14, 2008: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090820000304/http://eastandard.net/news/?id=1143980355&cid=159 Displaced Maruge may miss school]}} 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.Globe and Mail, March 20, 2008: [https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080320.wschoolboy0320/BNStory/International/home Kenya's 88-year-old schoolboy]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} In June 2008, he relocated to the capital Nairobi.The Standard, June 7, 2008: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090820001457/http://eastandard.net/news/?id=1143987977&cid=159 Maruge relocates to Nairobi]}}
In June 2008, Maruge was forced to withdraw from school and relocate to a retirement home for senior citizens.BBC, June 6, 2008: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7441208.stm Kenyan OAP pupil taken into care ] 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.Daily Nation, May 24, 2009: [http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/602672/-/ujoj5w/-/index.html Oldest pupil now seeks to be listed in Book of Life]
Maruge was then using a wheelchair.
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.The Standard, August 15, 2009: {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150113174135/http://eastandard.net/news/InsidePage.php?id=1144021620 World's oldest pupil, Stephen Maruge, dies]}} He was buried at his farm in Subukia.The Standard, August 26, 2009: [http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=1144022433&cid=159& Heroic sendoff for world's oldest pupil] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716054536/http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=1144022433&cid=159& |date=2011-07-16 }}
Google Doodle
On 19 January 2015, on the 11th anniversary of his first day of school, Google's homepage Google Doodle was about Kimani Maruge.Google Doodle: [https://doodles.google/doodle/11th-anniversary-of-kimani-maruges-first-day-of-school/ 11th Anniversary of Kimani Maruge's First Day of School
References
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Category:People from Uasin Gishu County
Category:Deaths from stomach cancer
Category:Deaths from cancer in Kenya
Category:Kenyan Roman Catholics