Fred Matiang’i exposes shock details of impunity and rot at disgraced exam body

Education Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i blew the whistle on a cabal of corrupt officials at the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).

The Standard on Sunday has exclusively obtained detailed communication from Dr Matiang’i to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raising suspicion on the conduct of members of the now disbanded Knec board and top secretariat officials.

In the letter, Matiang’i alludes to existence of cartels within Knec, a porous examinations security system, tribalism and cronyism, all which, the CS says, contribute to the rot at the national examinations body and the unprecedented levels of cheating witnessed in last year’s exams.

The communication also reveals that the board chairman was aware of the goings-on at Knec but failed to act.

“The most baffling of all aspects of this experience is that the chairperson of the board has confessed to both the CS and PS that he is aware of the incredible mismanagement of the institution and even some malpractices that have happened there but remains unable to do much due to the deep involvement of most board members,” the letter reads.

Matiang’i continues to say that throughout his interaction with officers within the examinations system, he has come in contact with information that indicates that “the rot and level of criminality at Knec runs very deep”.

And that the rot at the institution is a “product of a culture of mediocrity, corruption and incompetence that has been perpetuated by the organisation over a long period of time”.

In his communication, he queries the actions taken on three serious Knec officials implicated in the Chickengate bribery scandals.

“The immediate former CEO and three senior officers were specifically mentioned in the report of the UK’s Serious Fraud Office. It is not clear the specific actions that have been taken on this matter to this day although the private company involved in this in the UK has been fined and its officials charged and sentenced in a UK court,” he says.

In the Chickengate scandal, Smith and Ouzman Ltd directors Christopher Smith, 72, and his son Nicholas Smith, 43, were jailed for bribing Knec bosses to get printing contracts.

Also of concern in the letter is the perpetuation of tribalism in the council’s board.

“Five of the current eight members of the board, including the immediate past and present CEOs of the organisation come from one ethnic community. It is so clear from the recruitment and staff mobility in the organisation that an ethnic cartel has been formed at the organisation over the years,” the letter says.

Still on tribalism, Matiang’i says five main and compulsory KCSE subjects have been consistently set over five years by setters from one ethnic community.

Also, the CS alludes to the breaking of best practice rules by the Knec board. For instance, he says, some examination setters have been on Knec’s payroll for more than 10 years, effectively dealing a blow to any variety of thought or content or style during the examination setting process.

Reckless body

According to the letter, the process of setting, reviewing, formatting, printing, distribution, administration and returns of the exams is suspect and weak. For instance, insiders say that the 2015 examination had been set in 2013 and some staffers carried it out in memory devices for printing – a possible explanation for the unprecedented 2015 exams leakage.

“This needs to be thoroughly investigated... the rationale of such reckless practice, in this day and age, should be followed and officials called to account for it,” Matiang’i says in the letter, proposing the investigation of a former server manager at the council.

The DCI communication also queries the relationship of the examinations body and sections of law enforcement with regard to upholding the integrity of the examinations.

For example, at the height of the exams leakage scandal, Knec alleged the opening and loss of some examination papers from a police post in North Eastern.

“Interestingly, no records exist on any investigation into this matter. No action has been reported. It was very curious that the head of security at Knec deliberately and strenuously refused to divulge to us the names of the senior police officers at the police station where the examinations were allegedly opened,” Matiang’i’s letter reads.

Apart from the police, the role of other law enforcement agencies in the years-long scam has also been questioned. Matiangi says senior Knec security team confessed that they, with the help of the DCI and Banking Fraud Investigations Unit, traced huge deposits in individual bank accounts of some of the suspects in the 2015 exams leakage fiasco. However, no more information regarding actions taken against the said individuals came forth.

A section of managers at Knec claim to have reported the malpractice to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) but encountered “poor cooperation from EACC officers”.

Like many other modern day scandals, the procurement process at Knec, according to the Matiang’i letter, has over the years fallen victim to abuse by successive office holders.

“Knec’s procurement of all its printing machines and equipment by the immediate former CEO should be investigated,” he said. Still on procurement, allegations persist on the association of companies of service providers with the immediate former CEO and a senior manager still working at Knec.