KCPE: Boy goes berserk, chases pupils with knife during exam

By Kenneth Ruto and Susan Kogi

A 15-year-old boy from Moinonin in Baringo North has been hospitalised after he developed a mental illness while sitting the national exam, KCPE.

The learner, who enrolled for the 2019 KCPE at Loruk Primary School, “went berserk” during English paper on Tuesday morning.

It is said he brandished a kitchen knife and began chasing his fellow learners and invigilators during the test.

Baringo North District Education Officer, George Okeyo, told K24 Digital that the invigilator had noticed the boy wasn’t writing on the answer sheet, but was only scribbling illegible diagrams, resulting in him [invigilator] asking the candidate what the problem was.

It is at that point that he whipped out a knife and threatened to harm the exam proctor and fellow pupils, said Okeyo.

Security officers, who had been deployed to Loruk Primary School, managed to capture the boy and detained him in one of the rooms within the institution.

No one was injured during the incident, the district education officer said.

The 15-year-old boy’s parents, who were called to the school, promptly arrived and took the candidate to Marigat Sub-County Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a mental illness.

The health facility’s clinical officer in charge, Chirchir Lagat, told K24 Digital that the minor was suffering from major depressive disorder with hypomania, which he termed in simple terms as a “mental illness”.

Lagat said the patient’s ailment dates back to 2017, and he has experienced the disorder in an on-and-off pattern.

“He did not respond to treatment despite putting him on medication,” said Lagat, adding: “We will continue administering medicine and monitor how he responds.”

Due to the ailment, the KCPE candidate, who had already completed his Math exam, could not continue sitting the remaining papers – English Composition, Science, Kiswahili, Kiswahili Insha, and Social Studies/Religious Education.

Police say they are investigating how the learner gained access to the exam room with a knife tucked in his clothes.

The 2019 KCPE exam, which began on Tuesday, October 29, ends on Thursday, October 31.

At least one million candidates nationwide enrolled for the end-of-primary-education test.