Kirobon High School was thrown into celebration after receiving news that their former student, a top rugby player Monate Akuei had signed up for Old Blue Rugby team in the USA.
A refugee from South Sudan, Akuei turned up for both Shujaa, the Kenya Sevens team and Kenya Simbas, the national 15's team for three years.
The tall strong player, who joined the school in 2014 in Form 3 and sat for Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) in 2015, turned up for Nakuru RFC in the Kenya Cup.
He was a multi-talented player while at Kirobon, according to the retired school Principal Barnabas Kitilit. On Tuesday, Old Blue Rugby announced on their facebook page that they had signed the Kenyan player.
“Old Blue Rugby are excited to announce the signing of Kenyan International Monate Akuei. Monate, who plays in the back row, is 23 years old and has played for Kenya 15s and 7s,” the club said.
Kitilit said the boy was so talented despite being a little cheeky at school.
“When I admitted him at the school in Form 3, I knew he was a basketballer because of his height but surprised me by venturing into rugby before falling in love with the sport,” said Kitilit.
He said he didn't know his parents and even ended up releasing his results to him despite not honouring his school fees. Kitilit said he understood his kind of life and did not want to stress him further with matters school fees.
“I am happy his talent has finally paid off," he said. He added that when Nakuru RFC wanted to sign, he had to offer him a leaving certificate without conditions.
“He learned his rugby skills when he used to visit Nakuru Athletics Club and from that time, he became one of the most dependable players for our school during school championships.
"We used to play good rugby for the years he was in with us and gave the likes of Menengai High, Nakuru High, Nakuru Day or Utumishi a run for his money. The schools were very advanced in rugby unlike Kirobon,” explained Kitilit.
He said it was around that time that Kirobon became a centre of excellence in sports and competed at the 2014 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association in Mombasa.
