Kimani Nganga, World Oldest Pupil

Kimani Nganga Maruge is already a great-grandfather in Kenya, aka holder of the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school, at the shocking age of 84. Mr. Maruge had died at the age of 90 years old just recently. He was a veteran of Mau Mau independence movement who never had the opportunity to go to school when he was younger. The father of five said he wanted to learn to read so he could read the Bible for himself.
In 2004 he enrolled in Kapkenduywa primary school in Eldoret, a year after Kenya government introduced free primary schooling. He was one of the best attendance records and was made a prefect in school. Two of his 30 grandchildren who was in the same school, said he wanted to complete a veterinary diploma. In 2005, Mr. Maruge travelled to America where he called on world leaders attending a summit to make education for the poor a priority.
Mr. Maruge had spent the last year of his life in Cheshire Homes in Kenya. After he was diagnosed with cancer in February, he asked for the teachers to teach him at home.
“He was a very courageous man,” Mumbi Kamuri, head of Cheshire Homes in Kenya said. “Even if you don’t see it through to end, you have will still have achieved something.”
The BBC’s Will Ross in Nairobi says he will be remembered by many people as an inspirational figure who brought new meaning to the phrase, “it’s never too late”.