Police arrested 12 people on Tuesday, November 21, 2018, after a raid linked to alleged KCSE exam cheating at Shikokho Secondary School in Ikolomani Sub County.
Acting on a tipoff, officers manning the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations moved in on a teachers’ quarters area near the school and found suspects said to be working out answers for candidates sitting an afternoon paper.
According to the report, those held included two teachers, a supervisor, the centre manager and eight invigilators. One teacher escaped and was still on the run after the operation.
Two of the suspects were arrested at a rental house belonging to one of the teachers, located a few metres from the school. Area Deputy County Commissioner Elizabeth Atemi said the team went to the school after receiving reports that teachers were helping students steal exams.
“We received information that two teachers from the school were hiding in a house near the school and were suspected to be writing answers for the students who were in the examination room,” said Ms. Atemi.
She said officers recovered photocopies of exam papers, including some with worked out answers. Investigators also found papers said to have been completed the previous day, including Geography papers, along with Geography and Agriculture textbooks and mobile phones.
“We also recovered papers that had been done the previous day including Geography papers. Geography and Agriculture textbooks and mobile phones were also found at the scene an indication that something wrong was going on,” said Ms. Atemi.
Ms. Atemi added that preliminary investigations showed one of the mobile phones contained messages with leaked exam questions. She said the suspected syndicate involved different stakeholders who were in constant communication with the suspects.
Investigations were launched, and Ms. Atemi said more arrests were likely. She also said officials had fast-tracked the replacement of invigilators, supervisors and the centre manager so the exams at the school would continue without disruption.
She said authorities were also monitoring more than 30 exam centres over possible malpractice, with additional officials from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and police officers deployed to man the centres.
The suspects remained in custody to assist with investigations and were expected to be arraigned in court after the probe is completed.
