Jason Kap Kirwok is the country director of TradeMark East Africa and is also an acclaimed author. He spoke to BEATRICE OBWOCHA about humble beginnings and pursuing what he loves most — writing
Jason Kap Kirwok, or Kap, as most people call him, grew up in a small village in Mt Elgon and attended local schools, but later served in high positions including consulting for the World Bank. He has also published four books.
“I see myself as a man with a third grade mind who got a second rate education but has been lucky to end up with first rate jobs,” Kap says of himself.
He remembers attending classes under a tree at Chemoge Primary School, where they sat on stones.
“When it rained, and it used to rain most of the times because we were at the foot of Mt Elgon, we never had classes. The situation changed after we joined Class Five as there were mud classrooms,” Kap remembers.
But despite the hardships, the boy soldiered on. He had a passion for reading but recalls there were no libraries those days. Thus he had to read what he came across, which turned out mostly to be newspapers used to wrap meat brought home by his parents.
Kap joined Kapsakwony Secondary School and later Nyeri High School. His interest in literature continued to grow and a passion for writing also begun budding. Kap recalls he wrote his first story while in Form Two.
“I still have that book somewhere. I kept telling myself that I will write it someday,” he says.
