Fifteen Grade 10 students stranded in Kisumu after fake sponsorship promise

Fifteen students who were set to join Grade 10 in various schools were left stranded in Kisumu’s Manyatta area on Tuesday after an unknown individual lured them with promises of full sponsorship.

The students, accompanied by their parents, said the supposed well-wisher instructed them to buy a mattress, a metal box and six exercise books, assuring them that the remaining school fees and requirements would be fully covered.

The parents said they spent two days waiting at Manyatta Primary School, where the individual had promised to pick them up and facilitate their admission to different schools.

However, the person never showed up and could no longer be reached.

“Mtoto wangu ameitwa Kisian Mixed na sina namna. Bwana yangu alikufa na huyo ndio first born wangu na sina chochote. Ata mattress na box tumekuja nayo hapa ni ya kuomba tu,” said Nyahera resident Lynet Anyango

A Manyatta resident, Sheila Onyango, stated, “Tukimpigia anasema niko airport, niko Katito, hafiki. Niko Ahero, five minutes. Sasa ni hivyo tu, anafika hafiki. Dakika kidogo anafungua simu, dakika kidogo anazima.”

The contact details of the alleged sponsor are said to have been widely circulated among parents who were struggling to meet the high cost of Grade 10 admission.

Officials from the Ministry of Education later intervened, taking the details of the affected students and their parents before advising them to return to their homes as investigations into the matter continue.

“We have got a neighbour, and he is the one who was recruiting others into this mess. Now I am going with the contact person to the office, and then I will hand over to higher authorities for further action, and this person, who calls himself Shem Otieno, will be brought to book,” added Manyatta ‘A’ assistant chief Agnes Ogweno.