Isaac Kinyua, a 78-year-old remandee at the Meru Main Prison, is one of the oldest candidates who will be sitting for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) this year.
Kinyua while speaking to the Standard on Monday, March 22 revealed that he was inspired by Kenya’s oldest KCPE candidate, late Kimani Maruge, to further his education.
“I am confident that I will perform well in the examinations. I am well prepared and sure that I will get above average. Our teachers and prison wardens have made sure that we are well equipped,” Kinyua said.
The Assistant Commissioner, Joseph Saitoti, praised Kinyua as an eloquent and disciplined student.
Kinyua was committed into the custody of the Meru Main Prison in 2016 on forgery charges and will know his fate in May 2021.
The late Kimani Maruge who inspired Kinyua to further his studies enrolled in the first grade in January 2004 at the age of 84.
He enrolled into Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret and a year later in 2005 he was elected to be the school’s head boy.
Maruge said he was inspired to enrol into the school by the government’s announcement of universal and free primary school in 2003.
This led to Maruge being invited to give a speech at the United Nations 2005 World Summit on the importance of free primary education. The summit was held in New York city.
Many prisoners have in the past sat for the national examinations and excelled.
In November 2018, Solomon Ngatia a convict serving thirty years at the Nakuru GK Prison scored 403 marks to the surprise of many Kenyans.
Ngatia, a father of two was convicted in 2012 on attempted murder charges.
Ngatia’s performance was however not a unique situation. In the same year that Ngatia sat for his examination, Francis Kariko who was serving a life sentence scored 374 marks followed by Stephen Kipkoech who scored 355 and then Geofferry Bosire who scored 351 marks.
Speaking in 2018, Prison welfare officer Mose Kodek termed the results as the best the inmates were able to achieve considering the challenges they faced.
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