The Rats of Rift Valley
After settling into their corncob mattresses and snuggling under piles of thick blankets to protect themselves from the chilly Kijabe wind blowing through the cracks of the Kiambogo building, they waited for it to begin,
“After a while you would hear it…They would start at the end of the building and it would sound like just a rustling at first, and then it would come…like a thundering herd coming down over the ceiling, dozens of them, great big rats…forest rats. They had gnawed holes through the ceiling and would come down the walls and next thing you know they are climbing over the top of your bed!” – Willie Barnett
Thankfully students at Rift Valley Academy no longer sleep on corncob mattresses and have to contend with thundering herds of rats like they did in the 1920’s. However, it was a good way to make some money. Students were paid five Kenyan cents for each dead rat. I think they would have done it for free!