Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are hunting for a KCSE candidate who escaped from school during a raid by sleuths.
The DCI on Thursday, March 31, confirmed it was looking for the candidate, who changed into civilian clothes and jumped over the fence when detectives arrived at the school.
The detectives suspected that the student ran away to access examination material for the Agriculture paper that was administered on Wednesday, March 30.
According to the DCI, the candidate was in the company of two other people and they left behind a mobile phone which had exams papers that had been done on Tuesday.
"He suddenly put on civilian clothes to conceal his school uniform and jumped over the school fence to a neighbouring compound. Detectives who were within the school’s vicinity became suspicious and followed suit over the fence, landing on the other side with a thud," the DCI stated.
"He and two other unknown persons who were conversing in low tones scampered in different directions when the detective announced his arrival, leaving behind a mobile phone that contained a replica of the Geography and Physics papers administered on Tuesday and the Agriculture paper that the candidates sat yesterday," the statement continued.
The DCI confirmed that a manhunt for the suspect and his accomplices is underway with detectives based at the forensic cyber and digital laboratory, joining in the operation.
Notably, the DCI stated that it was committed to ensuring that the national exams are untainted by cheating, having arrested several suspects on allegations of tampering with the examinations.
In the statement, the DCI stated that four people suspected of being part of a larger syndicate suspected of plotting exam malpractices.
"The four had masterminded examination fraud in social media groups with followers in their thousands sitting the ongoing KCSE examination, buying examination papers and answers.
"Gideon Tanui, Kevin Kiprotich, Justice Leting and James Obongo pleaded not guilty and were released on a Ksh300,000 cash bail and a bond of Ksh500,000 each with a surety," the DCI noted.
The sleuths warned students and others who have planned to commit exam malpractices that tough action will be taken against them.
Other suspects were arrested in Mbita, Garbatula and Turkana with police confiscating over 60 mobile phones. Cybercrime detectives are currently analyzing mobile phones to retrieve information that will be used as evidence against the suspects.
