A man has been arrested for alleged involvement in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam malpractice.
The man was on Monday arrested by detectives based at the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) jointly with their Masaba North counterparts.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations said the man has been running a group on Telegram to facilitate the exam malpractices.
Detectives said they had cornered and arrested him after a sustained surveillance operation.
Following a detailed search of his premises, they recovered a mobile phone and a laptop, the supported tools for the trade.
Detectives said the suspect has been exploiting parents and students involved in the exam cheating.
The team said it is continuing with tracking down other individuals involved in the vice.
Photos shared by DCI showed that the Telegram group had 802 members, with messages like “Here is Chemistry paper for those who are asking for it in my inbox” and “English paper is available now with answers”.
"All KCSE papers are with me right now. Big schools are already in touch with my papers. Join VIP channel earlier to compete with big schools in my VIP private channel. B+ and above is assured and guaranteed after payments," a message read.
The Telegram page showed that the man had shared seven documents and links in the chat.
This comes amid a safety assurance from the Ministry of Education that no malpractice incidents will go unchecked.
CS Julius Migos affirmed that all cheating cases in the ongoing KCSE examinations will not affect learning institutions where the cases will be detected.
“We are not going to bend or apologise for insisting that we need to have credible examinations in this country. Education is key and let us not disobey the regulations we have put in place,” he said.
He said it is only fair to let the learners get the results that they worked for, and not help them cheat.
“Let us all do the right thing to ensure that we give these children a chance. You can imagine the joy a student will have when they get their results knowing they did not cheat,” he said.
So far, three KNEC-contracted examination agents were on Friday arraigned before a Kapenguria Law Court to answer charges of failing to prevent an examination irregularity in the ongoing examinations.
The three, Wilson Limakou, Sila Poriot, and Mercyline Cheruto, with others not before the court, were arrested at a private KCSE examination centre within West Pokot Sub County where they had been assigned to manage.
The agents allegedly allowed candidates to be in possession of unauthorised electronic devices, such as mobile phones, without lawful authority while the examination was in progress.
The three were apprehended by police officers with the gadgets said to be containing examination papers on November 5, 2024, at the examination centre.
Appearing before Chief Magistrate Benard Ondego, they accused persons denied the charges and were each granted a Sh10,000 bond and sureties of similar amounts.
The case will be mentioned on November 12, 2024.
