A Kibabii University student is in police custody in Bungoma after detectives arrested him over the alleged circulation and sale of 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination papers on Telegram.

The suspect, identified as John Odhiambo Opiyo, was arrested after detectives received intelligence linking his Telegram account to the circulation of examination materials, with police saying he had allegedly started sharing the papers with other people before officers closed in on him.

Bungoma County Police Commander Omar Bika Arero confirmed the arrest, saying detectives acted swiftly to stop the distribution.

“He had already had this year’s KCSE examination papers on his Telegram account. Information reached our officers that he had started distributing the papers to others so he was arrested,” he said.

Addressing journalists in his office, Arero said detectives recovered a mobile phone suspected to have been used to circulate the examination materials.

The handset, he said, is being held as an exhibit as investigators seek to establish how the suspect accessed the papers and whether he was working with other people.

He said the suspect was being held at Bungoma Police Station as detectives prepared an inventory of the recovered items ahead of further investigations.

The arrest has brought renewed attention to examination security as more than one million candidates sit this year’s KCSE examinations, the highest candidature in the history of the national examination.

The Bungoma incident is among suspected examination malpractice cases reported since the examinations began on Monday, with detectives also investigating similar incidents in Garissa and Wajir counties.

However, police have yet to establish the extent of the alleged distribution network or confirm how many people may have received the examination materials.

The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has tightened security around examination centres, directing centre managers, supervisors, invigilators and security personnel to switch off their mobile phones and keep them in secure lockers outside examination rooms.

Candidates have also been barred from entering examination rooms with wristwatches and connected electronic devices as authorities seek to minimize opportunities for examination malpractice.

by Chris Mahandara