The head of math department and the Form 3 senior master during my time at Starehe Boys' Centre, Mr. Obudho was one of the teachers who propelled the school to excellence by holding teachers to high standards of performance.
I vividly remember the morning in 2004 when he came to our Form 3 class and I voiced a complaint about our literature teacher, a lovely lady called Miss Gathige. But I can't remember what I said.
A day or two later, Miss Gathige told us Mr. Obudho had questioned her. That was how he held teachers to high standards of performance. Oh, Miss Gathige asked us who had reported her and some classmates told her it was me!
Certainly because of his duties as the head of math department and the Form 3 senior master, Mr. Obudho taught only one class, a Form 4 class. When I got into fourth form in January 2005, it was our class he taught.
I became one of his favorite students, probably because I was good at math. He once asked me to go to the blackboard and solve a problem that was troubling my classmates. Believe it or not, I solved it.
That I was good at math is apparent now when I remember the day Mr. Obudho came to our class and handed out some scripts he had marked. When I got mine and saw I had scored over 80%, I almost danced for joy.
Come 2006, Mr. Obudho went to teach in another school. A few weeks or so before he left, he asked me how I'd done in his subject in KCSE exams when we met in Starehe. He must have been pleased when I told him I had scored an 'A'.
Several years later when I was walking in the streets of Nairobi, I spotted someone who looked like Mr. Obudho on the move. But I didn't approach him to introduce myself, a weakness I've had when in low spirits.
For some years, I had wondered what became of him. Part of my curiosity was quenched last year when I heard on Facebook that he had passed away. Till we meet again, keep resting in peace my beloved math teacher - Mr. Samuel Obudho!
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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy "Four Teachers I Liked".
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Remembering a Math Teacher
A True Story
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