They topped the country in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations four years ago, and in 2025, they have once again stamped their authority, this time at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, cementing their place among Kenya’s brightest students.
In the 2021 KCPE, Bruce Mackenzie Magata scored 428 marks from Gilgil Hills Academy in Nakuru, the highest mark in the country at the time, followed closely by Ashley Momanyi Kerubo with 427 marks.
Four years later, they are topping the charts: Mackenzie, a student at Alliance High School, scored an A plain in the KCSE, and Ashley, who went to The Kenya High School, scored an A plain of 83 points.
Top KCPE candidates from Nyanza region. From left: Graca Idah Owori from Maseno Girls Boarding School (422 marks), Ashley Kerubo Momanyi of Makini School in Kibos (427), Elkana Lemashon from Cape View Academy in Homa Bay (422) and Clinton Jordan Musava from Mbita International School (420).
Photo credit: Tonny Omondi | Nation Media Group
Speaking to the Daily Nation by phone, Mackenzie said the pressure to live up to his KCPE performance was immense but ultimately motivating.
“After topping in primary there was pressure from teachers, parents and everyone around me to also top in the KCSE, it was a good challenge. I have seen the fruits. Though I am not the top in the country I am among the ones topping in our school,” he said.
Mackenzie attributed his success to hard work and sacrifice, and now hopes to join the University of Nairobi to pursue software engineering.
Ashley Kerubo Momanyi, the top girl nationally in the 2021 KCPE, has matched her early promise by scoring a straight A in the just-released KCSE results.
Ms Momanyi, who sat her KCPE at Makini School, Kibos, scored straight As in English, Kiswahili, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Business Studies, an A- in Biology and a B+ in Geography.
The 18-year-old Kenya High School student followed the official release of the KCSE results from her home in Kisumu’s Riat Hills, admitting she was anxious despite her preparation.
“I was a bit scared, nervous believing that despite putting in all your effort, something could go wrong, but when I received a response from the Kenya National Examination Council, my face brightened,” she said.
“Immediately the Education Cabinet Secretary Migos Ogamba officially released the results, I must have been the first person to access the portal. I was so eager to know my results and when I got them I was so elated that it was an A plain,” Ms Momanyi added.
Momanyi Kerubo Ashley of Makini School Kibos in Kisumu. She scored 427 marks and was the number 2 candidate in Kenya.
Photo credit: Tonny Omondi | Nation Media Group
She attributed her success to support from her mother, teachers and fellow students, alongside hard work, determination and staying focused. Despite the expectations that followed her stellar KCPE performance, she said she did not dwell on the pressure.
“Well there was some little pressure but it was not the main thing that drove me to work hard. My drive was knowing what I wanted to achieve and working towards that,” she said.
Ashley Kerubo Momanyi (in the brown blazer), who was the top girl nationally in the 2021 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examinations, has matched her excellence by achieving straight A's and 83 points in the recently released Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations. Also in the photo is her mother, Rose Abwunza.
Photo credit: Rushdie Oudia | Nation
Her mother, Rose Abwunza, said the results came as no surprise.
“I know my daughter’s potential and she always knows what she wants and requested for resources she needed to achieve it, and she just made me proud. I am very excited about the results,” said Ms Abwunza.
While she once hoped to become an astronaut, Ms Momanyi now intends to pursue Mechatronics engineering, with Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology among her universities of choice.
