Twelve Form Four candidates at a school in Kalama Sub-County, Machakos County, have been barred from sitting their remaining 2026 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) papers over an alleged breach of examination rules on mobile phones. The case is still developing.
The incident happened on Friday 13 November 2026, one week before the examination ends on Friday 20 November. The candidates were allegedly found with mobile phones within the examination zone. It has not been stated whether the phones were inside an examination room or elsewhere in the compound.
What officials have said
Kalama Sub-County Director of Education Laban Siwili confirmed the incident and said it has been brought to the attention of the relevant examination authorities. He said the final decision on the candidates’ fate rests with Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) Chief Executive Officer David Njengere, who will decide the appropriate action.
KNEC has not yet published a statement on the case.
KNEC’s rules on mobile phones
KNEC rules prohibit candidates from bringing mobile phones and other unauthorised electronic communication devices into examination rooms. Its instructions to centre managers for 2026 say:
- All mobile phones at the centre must be switched off and kept in a lockable locker outside the examination room during a paper.
- Centre managers, supervisors, invigilators and security officers must surrender their phones to supervisors until the examination is over.
- Candidates may not wear wristwatches into examination rooms, and schools must provide wall clocks in every room.
Njengere has called phones one of the greatest threats to the integrity of national examinations. In his message to candidates on 25 October 2026, he warned that no one should be found with a phone in an examination centre. KNEC has also warned that candidates involved in malpractice risk having their results cancelled.
What happens next
The candidates cannot sit the remaining papers while the allegation is addressed. KNEC will decide the outcome. Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Ogamba said on the first day of the examination that the government ‘shall have no mercy on anyone’ found engaging in examination offences or malpractices.
An appeal to parents
About 70 per cent of KCSE candidates are day scholars. Njengere has urged parents to check their children for mobile phones before they leave home for examination centres.
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