KOITOROR

By WillIam Kiptoo

Known today as Koitoror, the area locals once called Kapsoni carries a history dating back to 1906. That year, a three-year-old boy named Sonny Vallerie Cloette arrived from South Africa with his family, bringing along their cherished cattle, sheep, and horses. His father, Christiaan Cloette, was granted land in what is now Koitoror and established the farm he named Concordia.

The Cloette family transformed the Concordia farm into a thriving enterprise, importing cattle from South Africa and Uganda and raising over 50 peafowl. In 1910, Christiaan Cloette hired Rotich, a dedicated worker who served the family for 54 years.

Sonnie himself chronicled these early days in articles for *Friends of East Africa*, an annual South African magazine. His writings, filled with humor and vivid imagery, offer a rare glimpse into life in Uasin Gishu during the early 20th century.

One of his most poignant reflections comes from 1941, a moment when global and local changes loomed large.

“In 1941, my brother Schalk and Harry Fouche are sitting on the crown of old Sergoit kop (hill). So thoughtful we were, sitting and listening to how the badgers call and the mountain roosters float by while a reebok antelope quietly sneaks past. We look at the beautiful farms that the Boers had been built up over the years.

"Harry?"

“Yes, Schalk?”

"This is a beautiful world, isn't it?"

"Yes, Schalk"

There was silence for a while, then Schalk said: "Harry, what you see here now will soon be all black Africans."

Yes, like the prophets of old, they already have the bells ringing in the distance, not very clearly, but unmistakably.”

He also described a scene in which a descendant of Rotich, many generations later, reflects on the era of white settlers:

“Then I saw a vision in my sleep, that gave my spirit strength to sweep down the gulf of time. We are taken in the spirit to the year 2050. Together with Rotich Arap Barsosio, the great, great, great, grandson of Rotich who was with me for 54 years on "Concordia" we sit on Sergoit hill. With us are his grandsons, Chepkiyeng, Chepkerich and Toroitich. We listen to their conversation.

"Grandpa, who were the Kaburu that Grandpa Grandpa is talking about?"

"No, my children, Grandfather does not know, but one of our ancestors sat here on Sergoit and saw them arrive with wagons and oxen".

"Were they "Laibons" (witch doctors) Grandpa?"

"No my child but they had very good dawa, yes also for Monday sickness".

"What is it Grandpa?"

"No my child it was when the people drank too much "mayek" (beer)".

"Grandpa what dawa did the kaburuyot use then".

"No then they used the kiboko (sambok)".

The Boers believed Africans were lazy people and the only way to make them work hard to beat them. This included those who came to work drunk.

Today, Sonnie's prophesy about this land being occupied by black people is fulfilled. The generation however, has a vague memory of the white settlers. The "wind of change" Sonnie sensed became prophetic as Kenya moved towards independence.

By the 1960s, political and social shifts prompted the Cloette family to leave Kenya for South Africa. The departure marked the end of an era for Concordia. Local residents, including Francis Tarar, later an Eldoret East Member of Parliament, purchased the farm. In 1968, a school was established on the property, initially named Concordia but renamed Koitoror in 1985 as part of the indigenization movement. Koitoror, is derived from the name of the cooperative society that acquired the land.

Today, Koitoror is a bustling area with businesses thriving at the Koshin trading center and the nearby Koshin Technical Institute attracting many students. The Koilel farm in the neighborhood is also undergoing developments, making the area attractive for investments and residential living. The Cloetes' buildings and tools can still be seen around the area, reminding us of their remarkable journey and the legacy they left behind in Koitoror and Sergoit.

Cloette's tool and grain store, a reminder of his legacy in Uasin Gishu.