More than one million candidates began the main written papers of the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam on Monday, Citizen Digital and Capital FM reported. Education CS Julius Migos Ogamba marked the start by warning candidates and officials against cheating, according to The Star. Nyanza Regional Commissioner Onesmus Musyoki Kyatha said the exams will run for 20 days from Monday.
Interior PS Raymond Omollo warned teachers, parents and others on Sunday. He said anyone caught trying to compromise the exams will be arrested, The Star reported. Security agencies were on high alert to stop papers from being stolen, leaked or accessed illegally, he said.
Omollo told parents and teachers not to pay people who promise to obtain exam papers. He said such deals could ruin learners' futures and the careers of those involved. "We cannot cheat or play games with the lives of our children and the future of this country," he said. He added that the government had invested heavily in education, including hiring more teachers.
Kyatha said security teams were monitoring activity on the ground and on social media. He said candidates had spent four years preparing and should sit their papers without help from teachers or parents. Anyone found helping candidates cheat will be arrested, whatever their position, he said. He also promised tighter security throughout the exam period. In Kisii, Education PS John Ololtuaa urged parents to make sure candidates follow exam rules, Capital FM reported.
Arrests have already begun. Ghafla Kenya reported that detectives arrested Kibabii University student John Odhiambo Opiyo in Bungoma. He is suspected of running a KCSE cheating syndicate. Investigators traced the digital spread of leaked material back to him and recovered a mobile phone, the outlet said. Kenya News Agency reported that the government has also deployed digital security measures to protect the exams.
Special arrangements allowed seven candidates in hospital and five learners in correctional facilities to sit the exams, Capital FM reported. They include three inmates in Migori, according to Kenya News Agency. In Homa Bay, a candidate died hours after sitting the first two papers, the Daily Nation reported. The sources do not give the cause of death.