By insisting on high performance on the playing field and in the classroom, Carey Francis produced self-confident, college-prepared, intellectual minds. By the time I left Alliance, I felt that academically I could go toe to toe with the best that any European or Asian schools could produce.

I was going to live out my life in a home that reminded me of the loss of home and a school that offered shelter but not the certainty of home. Both, ironically, were colonial constructs, but I feared that even they might clash at any moment and crush my dreams.

In her own words, “I told myself I had to be the best at everything I did.” She had to do it all under scrutiny, for herself, her family, her nation, her race. It was almost as if she was there to prove our worth for independence. She was only one person, but for Kenyans, she was the One!

If you ever expected to see Mĩcere bow down in sorrow or self-pity, then you don’t know the girl who once had to shoulder the whole of Kenya as the only African person in an all-white school. Mĩcere Mũgo is a fighter. Where there is a fight for human rights, she is there. In Canada, as a student, she was part of the Angela Davis campaign, and whenever I have met Angela, she always had a few kind words about Mĩcere. Unfortunately, she has also had to battle with cancer and the loss of her beloved daughter Njeri, but she still walks tall, still smiles, and still retains a great sense of humor.

The two incidents brought home to me the meaning of Mandela’s introspective tone. The country was literally on the verge of a bloodbath, and he knew it. He held the key to its stability. Despite his calm demeanor, this must have weighed on him.

He held the nation together for the five years that he was president, guided by the realization that there is no room for vengeance in good politics. It is easier to tear down than to build up. In his one term, he showed his faith in the ANC and the people.