Police deny involvement in exam cheating

Police have denied claims of involvement in aiding cheating in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exams.

The police refuted the claims and insisted that they only handle the papers when sealed and no report has been filed so far to ascertain tampering of the seals.

Speaking to at a press conference in Nairobi, Police spokesperson Charles Owino said they have been diligently executing their duty by guarding the exam papers for years without such cases.

"Every police is under oath to uphold the rule of law. They themselves know the repercussions, if one is found to have gone against the law," said Owino.

Responding to the allegations made by Education Committee chair Sabina Chege that police are the culprits behind the blemished KCSE, Owino said Chege ought to have reported the matter to the police. "If truly police are involved in exams cheating and she has evidence, she should petition for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for investigations to be launched."

Chege had claimed that the police mandated with guarding the exams carry out underground transactions with teachers, students under the watch of the school principals by photographing the papers and distributing the images to students via social media.

However, Owino threatened that if the allegations made were found to be baseless they would press charges against the committee chair.

"Examinations are determinants of the quality of this country's education standards. Any allegations have to be made on factuality. If it comes out that they are false, necessary action will be taken as we are also investigating the same from our end,'Owino said.

Despite pressure mounting on Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) Chief Executive Officer Joseph Kivilu to suspend the exams over the increased cheating cases, he has insisted that they will go on as scheduled as some of the intercepted papers were not genuine.

Already a secondary school director, two teachers and five university students have been arrested over the saga with 30 mobile phones in custody. A candidate has also been arraigned in court over the same.

(Photo by Kiplimo)