Second officer loses examination container keys

Police in Kisumu guard a container used to store national examination papers in 2017. They were introduced to curb tampering with the papers. [File, Standard]

The security agencies in Makueni and Machakos counties have been put on high alert over the management of this year’s national examinations.

This follows twin incidents where Government officers entrusted with the safety of the examinations lost keys to the containers where the papers are kept.

Yesterday, Lukenya Assistant County Commissioner Elizabeth Karitu was arrested and interdicted after losing keys of the examinations container in Machakos.

Hours later, a similar incident has occurred in the neighboring Makueni county where a Sub County Director of Education is under investigation over a similar case.

Makueni County Commissioner Maalim Mohammed said Mbooni West Sub County education boss Paul Muinde was arrested and taken to the Ministry of Education headquarters in Nairobi for interrogation.

Mohammed added that the Ministry of Education has appointed another officer, Loise Macharia to replace Muinde.

“We are telling those charged with the responsibility of securing examinations that it is a serious matter. The Ministry (of Education) has already dispatched a new officer to the station and security has been beefed up to secure the container as Knec replaces the padlock,” said Mohammed.