Kisii KCSE Candidates Attack KNEC Officials, Police, Steal Pistol During Examination at Nyabisase Secondary School

KCSE examinations at Nyabisase Mixed Secondary School, Kisii County, descended into violence after candidates attacked Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) officials and police officers.

The government and national examination officials had arrived to oversee the 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

The confrontation reportedly occurred between the first and second examination papers, with hundreds of candidates turning against the visiting officials and security officers, leaving several of them injured.

During the chaos, the students allegedly overpowered a police officer and seized his Ceska pistol, which remained missing for nearly six hours, prompting an extensive security operation within the school.

Kisii County Police Commander Ronald Kirui said the incident began when the examination monitoring team, accompanied by police officers from Nairobi, was confronted by the candidates.

“We are here because of an incident that occurred between the first paper and the second paper whereby the NEC officials being accompanied by the police officers from Nairobi, while undergoing the monitoring for the examination as supposed to be, were accosted,” Kirui said.

Following the attack, security officers mounted an intensive search across the school in an attempt to recover the missing firearm.

Police officers frisked students and other occupants while searching different sections of the institution as authorities worked to establish who had taken possession of the weapon.

Kirui later confirmed that the firearm had been recovered after additional officers were deployed to reinforce the operation.

“An officer lost the firearm. But we have mounted a serious search in the school and we have recovered the firearm. So the firearm is with us and is under investigation again,” he said.

Police have since indicated that investigations are underway to identify those responsible for attacking the officers and taking the weapon.

CCTV footage is expected to assist investigators in identifying the students involved, paving the way for possible arrests and prosecution.

The incident left parents who rushed to the school following reports of the violence shocked, with some questioning how candidates sitting their final secondary school examinations could engage in such conduct.

The confrontation has also brought renewed scrutiny to discipline at the institution following an earlier incident in which students were filmed throwing stones at their teachers, sparking widespread condemnation.

Meanwhile, a separate examination-related incident was reported in Nakuru County, where a 31-year-old man accused of pretending to be a KCSE candidate was released on a KSh100,000 bond.

Nicholas Koech appeared in court over allegations that he presented himself as a registered candidate at Rohi High School in Kiamunyeki, Nakuru North, despite not having registered for the national examination.

Prosecutors alleged that Koech attempted to sit the examination on November 4, 2026, while posing as a genuine candidate.

He denied the charges brought under Section 31 of the Kenya National Examinations Council Act and was released on bond as he awaits trial.