Thirteen KCSE candidates have failed to show up for their papers in Nairobi alone, prompting the government to send chiefs, assistant chiefs and Nyumba Kumi teams to find them before the exams end.

Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba announced the plan on Wednesday after opening a Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) container at the Kibra Deputy County Commissioner's office in Nairobi, in a week in which the ministry also confirmed the deaths of three candidates.

"So what we've done is requested the team from Interior to work with all the chiefs and subchiefs going down to the Nyumba Kumi team to find out where these students are and for them to be encouraged to continue doing the exams," Ogamba said, according to People Daily.

A national picture still missing

The ministry has not said how many candidates have missed papers across the country, nor why the 13 in Nairobi stayed away. Candidates can miss exams because of illness, accidents, family emergencies, floods or insecurity, but the ministry has not linked any of these to the Nairobi cases.

Ogamba said arrangements were in place for candidates admitted to hospital to sit their papers in health facilities, with education and health officials working together, and said that coordination must continue for the rest of the exam period.

Three families in mourning

The CS named three candidates who have died:

  • A candidate at Alaru Central Mixed Secondary School in Rachuonyo West, Homa Bay County, who fell ill during her exams on Monday, November 2, and died in hospital.
  • Cornelius Kiplagat Rotich of Katebe Secondary School in Turbo, Uasin Gishu County, who died at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital on Tuesday after sitting his morning Mathematics paper.
  • A girl candidate from Gem in Siaya County who was reportedly killed at her family home on Friday, October 30, before the written papers began. Capital FM reported that a suspect is in police custody as investigations continue.

"On behalf of the Ministry of Education, I convey our heartfelt condolences to their families, friends and respective school communities," Ogamba said.

Moyale candidates moved

The exams have also been disrupted in Moyale, Marsabit County, where candidates from two centres were relocated after stray bullets hit a school during clashes along the Kenya-Ethiopia border. Ogamba said the move allowed them to keep sitting their papers safely.

He also warned candidates and parents against people and online groups claiming to have exam materials, and asked anyone with credible information on malpractice to call KNEC's toll-free lines, 0800 721 410 or 0800 724 900.

More than one million candidates are sitting this year's KCSE, which began on November 2.

Photos: Kenyans.co.ke/KNEC (KNEC offices, Dennis Pritt Road); People Daily/Ministry of Education (CS Julius Ogamba on November 4, 2026). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.