Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have arrested a university student accused of running an examination scam.
The suspect is believed to be part of a syndicate that defrauds parents, teachers, and candidates by selling fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) papers.
The arrest comes as the national examination season begins for the KCSE, the Kenya Primary School Education Assessment and the Kenya Junior School Education Assessment. The suspect, Chrispinus Nandafu Naisuma, 22, appeared at the Milimani Law Courts on Tuesday. However, he did not take a plea to allow the police to complete investigations.
Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina released him on a cash bail of Sh50,000, citing his cooperation with detectives.
DCI officers attached to the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec), said Mr Naisuma was tracked down to Meru University, where he had just completed his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics and physics. He was arrested on suspicion of selling counterfeit 2025 examination papers online.
Milimani Law Courts.
Photo credit: File| Nation Media Group
Detectives said the suspect was cornered after undercover officers posing as house-hunters approached him in his neighbourhood. Unaware he was helping the officers locate him, he led them straight to his house, where he was arrested.
Investigations revealed that Mr Naisuma allegedly ran a WhatsApp group dubbed, “Teachers KNEC Exam 2025”, which had been active for nearly two years. The group, which by mid-2025 had 1,025 members, allegedly sold fake examination papers to unsuspecting teachers and parents for between Sh100 and Sh1,000 each.
DCI sources said the suspect used multiple fake identities and several mobile numbers to carry out the scam. During the operation, officers recovered 34 SIM cards from different mobile service providers — Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom — as well as eight national identity cards, some belonging to his relatives.
Detectives told the court that they were still awaiting forensic reports from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), the DCI Cybercrime Unit, the National Registration Bureau, and mobile service providers Airtel and Telkom to link the suspect to the syndicate.
Originally from Bungoma County, Mr Naisuma joined Meru University on September 19, 2021, with financial support from his maternal uncle. He told the police that he had not returned home since joining campus.
At the time of his arrest on October 12, the suspect was preparing for his graduation ceremony scheduled for October 17. However, instead he was taken into custody. As detectives finalised their investigation, the young graduate spent the day behind bars — missing what would have been one of the most significant milestones of his life.
