Teachers, police officers in the dock over exams

Nakuru County Director of Education Isaac Atebe (center) with a senior police officer at Victory Preparatory School at Mbaruk in Gilgil, Nakuru County on November 1,2018. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Police officers, teachers and pupils in various parts of the country are facing charges over malpractices in the just-ended Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations.

In Narok County, eight head teachers and three police officers were yesterday charged with negligence over the mysterious disappearance of KCPE examination materials.

They were charged before Narok Chief Magistrate Wilbroda Juma that on October 31, in Olokurto, they lost KCPE papers for Kiswahili, Insha and Science, belonging to Oloonamuka Primary School.

Prosecutor Zachary Omwenga told the court the offence was serious and could attract a fine of Sh1 million or five years imprisonment.

The defence, through lawyers Kimutai Bosek and Allan Meingati, prayed for reasonable bond terms for the accused. The magistrate directed that the accused spend the night in the cell as their bond terms were considered.

In Trans Nzoia, three people yesterday appeared in a Kitale Court accused of committing an examination offence.

Before magistrate

Victor Pongusi, the director of Joy Academy Cheptandan, head teacher Vincent Anjelimo Keyar and a pupil appeared before Kitale Senior Resident Magistrate Dorcas Wangeci.

Pongusi and Anjelimo were charged that on October 30, jointly with others not before court, they helped the pupil to impersonate another.

The girl was charged with impersonating another pupil by posing as a KCPE candidate at Joy Academy.

The suspects denied committing the offence.

The prosecution, led by Esther Gaithuma, objected to a request by Pongusi and Anjelimo to be released on bond, arguing they were likely to interfere with witnesses. Gaithuma, however, did not object to the release of the minor on bond.

Wangeci ordered that Pongusi and Anjelimo be remanded.

The case will be heard on November 16.

In Taita Taveta, police arrested an examination supervisor and an invigilator for allegedly opening the wrong examination papers at Eldoro Primary School.

The suspects are said to have distributed Kiswahili Insha paper in the morning. The paper was to be done in the afternoon.

The centre manager informed security and senior education officials that the examination supervisor opened the papers by mistake.

Police officers

Taveta OCPD Francis Warui confirmed the arrests and said the matter was under investigation.

Elsewhere, a primary school in Mbaruk, Gilgil is under investigation over alleged malpractices.

It is alleged some children who sat the examinations in the institution that also hosted candidates from another school, were not the bona fide candidates.

Some of the candidates, it is believed, were picked from Class Seven and registered as KCPE candidates against KNEC regulations.

Directors from KNEC and Teachers Service Commission, security team led by County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha, County Commander Hassan Barua and other detectives visited the school yesterday.

Nakuru County Director of Education Isaac Atebe said detectives had collected necessary documents that would help them establish the truth.

[Story by Osinde Obare,  Kennedy Gachuhi, Mercy Kahenda and Renson Mnyamwezi]