A police officer is missing after students at Nyabisase Mixed Secondary School in Kisii County allegedly attacked a team investigating suspected examination malpractice during the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
The incident happened on Thursday, November 5, at around 10am when officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and National Intelligence Service (NIS) visited the school to investigate reports of irregularities.
The team had been sent to the institution after a KNEC official overseeing the examinations raised concerns about possible cheating.
During the visit, investigators reportedly found a laptop hidden behind the school’s administration offices, raising further questions about what was happening at the examination centre.
The team then contacted DCI officers based in Nyamache to help with the investigations.
However, before the detectives arrived, students allegedly turned against the officials, disrupting the monitoring exercise and attacking members of the team.
The confrontation reportedly became violent, with the students damaging a vehicle belonging to one of the police officers and taking personal belongings that had been kept inside.
One officer was also seriously assaulted during the incident and has since gone missing.
Police have launched efforts to establish his whereabouts, with his disappearance adding to the concerns surrounding the attack.
DCI detectives from Nyamache have since visited the school as investigations continue into the suspected examination malpractice, assault on the multi-agency team, damage to property and the missing officer.
The incident comes as KNEC steps up monitoring of examination centres during the national examinations to prevent cheating and other irregularities.