Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a university student who is suspected of scamming Kenyans by promising to change the results of the upcoming 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams.
The student, Ronald Osebe Osebe, from the Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), was arrested on Saturday morning. The arrest was made by detectives from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and Changamwe in Mombasa, working together.
Osebe is accused of tricking people into paying him, claiming that he could improve or change the marks of those who took the national exams, including those who failed in previous years. He also said he could alter the results of past KNEC certificates.
He marketed these “services” in a WhatsApp group he created, with over 300 people in it, many of whom were taken in by his lies. In the group, Osebe used a fake female identity called Nancy Baya to deceive unsuspecting parents and victims.
One of the messages he sent in the group said, “KCSE marking is ongoing. In case you need to improve your scores through editing, hit my inbox so that I can add you to the list before it’s full.”
Osebe was arrested in Changamwe and is now being held at the Changamwe Police Station. He will be taken to Nairobi for further processing and to face charges in court.
Detectives plan to charge him under the Computer Misuse and Cyber Crime Act, 2018, and also for obtaining money by false pretenses. They are still working to find out how much money he collected, and have asked for permission to access his M-Pesa and bank account details.
