Why Govt Is Monitoring Social Media Platforms For 24 Hours

The government has launched 24-hour surveillance of social media platforms as part of intensified security operations to prevent exam malpractice and digital crime during the ongoing national examinations.

Speaking on Wednesday, October 29, Internal Security Principal Secretary Dr. Raymond Omollo said a multi-agency team is carrying out continuous surveillance on social media to stop fake exam leaks and online scams.

He noted that the National Command Centre, housed within the ministry, has been fully activated to coordinate real-time responses and deter attempts to compromise exam integrity.

During a visit to a distribution center in Starehe Sub-county, where papers were being issued to center managers, Omollo commended the smooth progress of the exams so far.

PS Raymond Omollo during a courtesy visit to the Firearms Licensing Board (FLB) on October 29, 2025. /MINISTRY OF INTERIOR & NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION

"Overall, since the exercise, these examinations or assessments began, we have not had any major incidents worth worrying about, and this is because of the good coordination and collaboration that has happened between all the players, starting with the Ministry of Education, who are actually the primary owners of the assessment that is going on," he stated.

Omollo revealed that more than 600 examination containers have been distributed across sub-counties, with Sub-County Directors of Education working closely with Security and Intelligence Committees to ensure smooth operations.

On digital surveillance, the PS confirmed that the government is tracking individuals and pages impersonating official sources and defrauding unsuspecting parents, teachers, and students.

"We have the team from ICT, of course, we are also looking at issues of just the use of social media to try to pretend where people are pretending to be sharing information and even collecting money from unsuspecting whether it's parents, whether it's teachers, whether it's students," he said.

"Where we've found breaches or where we will come across those breaches, we'll be able to act appropriately, but just to give the assurance to all the students and the teachers that the preparations that are in place are good enough to ensure that we don't mess with or interfere with the integrity of the examinations."

Omollo added that although there have been a few incidents — such as delayed paper deliveries in flood-hit regions and cases of student illness — emergency teams have ensured the exams proceed without disruption.

"We had a case in Tana River yesterday, which again was resolved. The short rains have just begun, so we expect that we will still be able to ensure that the exams get to the schools in good time because we also have backup arrangements for where we will be forced to do the airlifting of the examinations," he explained.

The government has deployed layered security across the country, with police officers supporting Ministry of Education officials, invigilators, and center managers at the sub-county level.

Earlier, the Ministry of Education rolled out a multisectoral team to prevent cheating in the ongoing Kenya Primary School Education Assessment (KPSEA) and Kenya Junior School Education Assessment (KJSEA).

Basic Education PS Julius Bitok said the team’s mandate is to ensure the exams are handled professionally and remain free of malpractice.

"We have assembled a multisectoral team that is working around the clock to ensure the exam is administered professionally by eliminating opportunities for those who may want to indulge in cheating and other malpractices," Bitok stated.

He also called on all officers involved to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity.

"We are encouraging all our stakeholders, if they see anything unusual, to report it immediately. Vigilance is key to maintaining integrity and ensuring fairness for every learner," he said.

The KPSEA and KJSEA exams began on Monday, October 27, with KPSEA concluding on Wednesday, October 29, and KJSEA running until November 3. The KCSE exams started on October 21 and will end on November 21, 2025.