4 Arrested for Selling KCSE Papers

Detectives attached to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) have arrested four suspects involved in examination fraud.

The suspects according to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) the four who are college students in at least four institutions of higher learning.

The first suspect was arrested while distributing English and Chemistry exams to Silibwet and Sitoito secondary schools in Molo.

“The main suspect Gideon Kibet Tanui alias Evans Kipruto, an Information Technology student at Baringo Technical College, was picked from his rented room next to the college on March 15, at around 10:30am, while he was busy administering English paper 2 and Chemistry paper 1, to students of Silibwet and Sitoito secondary schools in Molo, Via his what's app group with a following of 70 members,” DCI said.

“The suspect who was dishing out examination papers at a paltry Sh500 per paper, was also discovered to be a member of two fraudulent examination Telegram groups with over 17,000 followers.”

Tanui had engaged detectives in a hide and seek game since Sunday last week, but was finally arrested in Baringo.

His arrest led the detectives to Kevin Kiprotich Langat, a Bachelor of Arts student in Swahili, at Rongo University, who was arrested on Thursday.

"Langat who was in constant communication with the first suspect had forwarded the English paper to him. It is at Rongo University where a wider syndicate of the examination fraudsters existed, in a Telegram group dubbed the ‘Kale Group’ created under the name ‘Bailing Out’ among other groups."

"Langat led detectives to yet another culprit, a first year political science and swahili comrade, identified as Justice Leting, who at the time of arrest was busy distributing the Kiswahili paper and preparing answers for the Chemistry practical paper," the sleuths said.

Leting's mobile phone had the entire KCSE examination material which was recovered by the detectives. He revealed to have been working with other students at the institution who are still being pursued.

Detectives intercepted tens of messages containing screenshots of the papers that are currently being examined, including handwritten answers which will be subjected to forensic document examination at the DCI National Forensic Laboratory, to ascertain the authors.

DCI said they are working to bring to book an elaborate web of fraudsters comprising of school heads, security agents, parents and college students, in some parts of the country including Nandi, who have conspired to give lazy students unfair advantage over their counterparts who worked hard and prepared for their examinations.