On January 9, 2025, Rose Adipo, who had sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations at Bunyore Girls High School, received her results.
However, Rose could not celebrate just yet despite scoring an A plain of 81 points, an extraordinary fete only managed by a tiny 0.18 percent.
Rose could not celebrate because her younger sister, Jesca Lubeya, who had also sat the same exams but at a different school, had not received her results.
They were so fond of each other to the extent that they would share both their happy and sad moments.
Their bond was further strengthened when their parents decided to register Jesca, who was then in class seven, for the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams (KCPE) in 2020.
“At the time, I was in Class Eight while Jesca was in Class Seven. To post good results, we spent most of our time together studying and our efforts eventually paid off,'' disclosed Rose.
She recalls how on the day the 2024 KCSE outcome was announced, they immediately started searching for their results online.
While Rose was unable to access her results due to poor network, Jesca on the other hand could not locate her name despite several search attempts.
Jesca, a former student at Lugulu Girls High School, Bungoma would later learn that their school's results had been withheld by the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec).
Earlier on, the Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba had announced that Knec had withheld results of 2,829 candidates over suspicion of engaging in exam irregularities.
“I could not stop crying after learning about our school's results being delayed. We were supposed to be celebrating together because I was confident that I had performed well just like my sister,” said Jesca.
The developing situation forced Rose to assume her role as the big sister, a role she had diligently played since childhood.
"I constantly consoled my sister Jesca every time she broke down. Sometimes when she was not in a mood to speak, I could give her space," recalled Rose.
Despite putting up a strong face, Rose disclosed, deep down she was also in pain and sympathised with her sister.
"After giving the exams our best, we both looked forward to posting good results and appearing in the media," said Rose.
It took almost a week for Jesca's results to finally be released by the exam body. Just like she had expected, Jesca too posted sterling results and was hoping to be featured in the daily newspapers and television bulletins.
Unfortunately, by the time her results were released the fire had died on the celebrations.
“In 2020, when we sat for the KCPE exams, we both performed exceptionally well. I actually scored 416 marks emerging among the top students at Xaverian Primary School, Kisumu,” recalled Rose.
She adds “At the time, I was deep in the village and by the time I showed up in school, the celebrations had died,” she explained.
Jesca told Nation.Africa that every morning she would wake up and check the result portal just in case things had changed but the feedback remained the same.
She said that during the waiting period the school's principal used to ask them to stay calm as she followed up on the results.
This however was not enough assurance to Jesca who was now convinced that she was going to retake the national exams to catch up with her sister.
"One of my greatest concerns was how and where my parents were going to get money to pay for my fees again in case I had to repeat Form Four since my school fees had been covered by a sponsor," she said.
On January 17, a few hours after the results of Lugulu Girls High School were released, Jesca's family broke into celebrations.
Just like her elder sister, Jesca had also done well scoring an A- of 77 points.
“We were seated consoling each other when my younger sister received her results, everyone was happy. That was the first time I saw my sister smile since January 9, 2025,” said Rose.
When the Nation.Africa caught up with the sisters for an interview, they were at a local primary school, where they volunteer as teachers.
Coincidentally, it is in the same school where Jesca had been registered for Class Eight exams way back in 2020 when she was supposed to be in Class Seven.
Jesca explained that it was during the Covid-19 pandemic when her father realized that she was bored at home while her sister Rose, then a candidate, was in school.
“One evening, when I came back home, dad announced that I would be sitting the national exams and I should work with my sister to excel,” said Jesca.
There was no time to resist, Jesca was immediately moved to class eight at the new school, separated from her sister.
She shared how every morning, they would wake up at 5 am and study together for 30 minutes then prepare for school.
The routine would continue in the evening. Jesca would help her sister with Mathematics and Social studies, while Rose on the other hand was good at Kiswahili, English and Christian Religious Education.
When the KCPE results were eventually released, Rose had scored 416 marks while Jesca who was top in her class scored 402 marks.
The news came as a big reprieve for the two girls since their parents, who hawk water and snacks for a living, could not raise their secondary school fees.
The sisters said that their team work did not stop after securing admission in separate high schools. During school holidays, Jesca revealed that they would spend three days studying together and the rest of the time doing personal studies.
“We would also compare notes since we were learning in different schools,” said Jesca.
Rose is looking forward to pursuing a course in Physiotherapy at the University of Nairobi while Jesca wants to study Orthopedics.
