23-year-old man arrested selling KCSE exam papers online

With the clock ticking towards the completion of the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations, detectives have netted another suspect illegally distributing exam papers in violation of Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) regulations.

Twenty-three-year-old Collins Kipchumba Kemboi, who was operating under the alias Dorothy Jerop Kiprono, was found at his house in Kiamunyi Estate in Nakuru County, with messages showing his recent dealings in which he had been selling KCSE papers.

Detectives say they recovered a mobile phone, several SIM cards, and identification cards bearing multiple names at the suspect's residence.

Kemboi, a graduate employed as a salesperson in an international company, is reported to have had a following of over 78,000 users on his Telegram channel, as well as 8,500 users across various WhatsApp groups, where he was selling KCSE 2024 papers for an average price of Ksh.850 each.

He will remain in custody for seven days while detectives work to unravel how he gained access to the papers.

While supervising the distribution exercise in Nyeri on Thursday, Education Principal Secretary (PS) Belio Kipsang said that despite cases of phones being found in unauthorized spaces, the ministry has recorded reduced cases of early exposure following the introduction of security features on the papers.

“We have not had any major case that worries us this year, apart from a few cases of telephones. We have really managed the cases of early exposure. They were very minimal—extremely minimal—and most of them were from people who, after we had opened the container at 8 a.m., would try to take them around," said the PS.

This comes even as five teachers from Menara Academy in Kisumu were released on a Ksh.200,000 cash bail, with the case slated for mention on November 25, 2024.

In Siaya County, four teachers from Usenge Secondary School were arrested after exam papers belonging to two candidates at the centre were found circulating on social media.