Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha on Tuesday left teachers in stitches after he described his look.
Speaking during the launch of Kenya Secondary Headteachers Association (KESSHA) conference in Mombasa, the CS lifted the lid on his personality and explained why most people misunderstood him.
“So I am going to explain to you the way I look. I know niko na sura mbaya (I have an ugly face). But having said so, my strength comes from God and my firmness,” he said amid laughter.
Magoha, who holds a PhD in Surgery from the University of Lagos and brags in having a 92-page Curriculum Vitae, also admitted he is a proud man.
“I am a professor and people say I am proud. Yes. If I am not proud of myself, who is going to be proud of me? So you should also be proud as teachers because teachers are the most important professionals," he added.
The CS hit out at his opponents who claim he is arrogant, saying they were mistaking his firmness for arrogance.
Magoha stated that having schooled at the Starehe Boys' Centre under the leadership of feared disciplinarian Geoffrey William Griffin, he could not afford to have a bossy attitude.
“How can a Starehe boy be arrogant? We are trained to be servant leaders by example and that is why you see me everywhere. I am telling you this so that you don’t listen to other description of the son of Magoha,” said the former University of Nairobi Vice-Chancellor.
Magoha has been under heavy criticism from the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Secretary-General Wilson Sossion over the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
Sossion accuses the CS of being arrogant for allegedly ignoring other stakeholders in the education sector in the implementation of the new curriculum.