CHAPTER THREE

SPECIAL REPORT: Exam Cheating Scandal Exposes Leadership Lapses and Phone Smuggling Link

By the Kisumu Girls High School Journalism Club

Introduction

In a months-long investigation, the Kisumu Girls Journalism Club has uncovered evidence of a coordinated exam cheating scheme at our school, enabled by smuggled mobile phones and a breakdown in prefect oversight. Our findings, based on interviews, digital evidence, and eyewitness accounts, raise urgent questions about the integrity of recent examinations and the effectiveness of student leadership.

The Cheating Operation

Our investigation began with rumors that students were using mobile phones-illegally brought into the school through a gap in the perimeter wall-to access exam answers. Using the club’s official camera, we documented how phones were passed from the boys’ side to girls after games, hidden in personal effects, and reassembled in the dorms.

Multiple sources, including confiscated messages and screenshots, show that these phones were used to circulate digital copies of midterm exam papers the night before tests. Students involved coordinated via encrypted chat groups, and several messages referenced prefect oversight, with one stating:

“We’re good as long as the prefect knows and doesn’t check our stuff.”

Prefect Oversight and Leadership Breakdown

The prefect responsible for Exams and Academic Affairs-June Aching Wendo of Form 3 Purple-has been repeatedly mentioned in group chats and student testimony as being aware of unusual activity but failing to intervene. While no direct evidence links June to organizing the cheating, the pattern of inaction and the volume of warnings she received about suspicious behavior point to a serious lapse in her official duties.

Administrative Action and Community Response

Following our reporting, school authorities conducted a surprise search of Dorm 2, recovering multiple phones and a digital copy of an exam paper. The administration has launched a formal inquiry, and several students have been suspended pending further investigation.

This scandal has triggered outrage among students and staff, with many calling for greater transparency and accountability at all levels of school leadership. As one teacher put it:

“This is not just about cheating-it’s about trust and the responsibility our leaders owe to the community.”

Conclusion

The Kisumu Girls Journalism Club stands by its commitment to transparency, honesty, and accountability. We urge the administration to pursue a thorough and fair investigation, and we call on all student leaders to reflect on their duty to uphold the values of our school.

This is an ongoing story. We will continue to report developments as they unfold.

For further information or to share confidential tips, contact the Journalism Club editorial team.

When the school community first saw the shocking exposé in the magazine on Monday morning, the reaction was immediate and electric. Students clustered in corridors and the dining hall, flipping through pages, reading aloud, and passing copies between hands. Whispers and gasps spread as June Achieng’s name and prefect duties were laid bare, directly linking her to the cheating scandal and the smuggled phones.

The teachers, caught off guard, quickly convened in staffrooms, some demanding to know how such a detailed investigation had escaped their notice. The administration, facing mounting pressure, called an emergency meeting before morning assembly. The mood was tense-some students expressed disbelief or anger, others a grim satisfaction that the truth was finally out.

By mid-morning, the scandal was the only topic of conversation. The school felt exposed, anxious, and divided. Some students rallied around the accused, while others called for strict accountability. The administration, now under scrutiny themselves, promised a thorough inquiry and swift action, knowing that the eyes of parents, the community, and possibly even exam authorities would soon be on the school.

Seline

I couldn’t stop thinking about Mercy. She was the one who’d first suggested the journalism club look into the phone rumors, urging me to “follow the story wherever it leads.” Mercy had always been so composed, so sure of what needed to be done for the good of the school. She’d checked in on our progress, encouraged us to be thorough, and reminded me that the truth mattered most-even when it was uncomfortable.

Now, as the story exploded, I watched Mercy from across the courtyard. She moved through the chaos with her usual calm, offering reassuring words to teachers and students alike. She congratulated the journalism club on our “commitment to integrity,” but I couldn’t help wondering if she’d known all along where this would end. Had I been doing her work for her? Or was I just another piece in a game she was playing at a level I didn’t fully understand?

Part of me wanted to hide. Another part-the part that had pressed ‘print’ on that story-reminded me why I’d done it. The evidence was overwhelming. June had failed in her duty, and the cheating scandal threatened everything our school stood for. If I hadn’t reported it, someone else might have, or worse, it might have been swept under the rug.

Still, I couldn’t shake the guilt. I kept replaying the moment I’d decided to include June’s name, her class, her prefect role. I wondered if I’d gone too far, if there was another way. But as the day wore on and the administration announced June’s suspension, I realized there was no turning back.

I’d wanted to be a real journalist, to make a difference. Now, I’d done exactly that. But as I watched June Walk past me in the corridor, head held high but eyes rimmed red, and saw Mercy’s steady, satisfied gaze from the other end of the hall, I understood for the first time what it really meant to hold power-and what its cost.

**********

June feels the walls closing in. Once respected and trusted, she’s now surrounded by suspicion and rumors. Mercy’s campaign is relentless, and the evidence against her grows by the day. June tries to rally her allies, but the tide is against her; every effort to defend herself seems only to confirm her guilt. 

She’s left with a bitter realization: in this game, it’s not enough to be innocent-you have to control the story, and right now, Mercy controls everything.

Mercy

From the moment I saw the first students huddled around the magazine, eyes wide and voices hushed, I knew the plan had worked. The journalism club had done exactly what I’d hoped-perhaps even better than I’d anticipated. Seline’s exposé was thorough, damning, and impossible to ignore. June’s name was everywhere, tied to the cheating scandal and the smuggled phones. The school was buzzing with shock and outrage.

The groundwork I’d laid-suggesting the story to Seline, nudging the journalism club to dig deeper, making sure the “right evidence” was found at the “right place”-had all paid off.

There was, of course, a risk. If anyone looked too closely, they might wonder why I’d been so insistent that Seline pursue the phone rumors, or why I’d seemed so certain that the story would lead somewhere big. But I’d been careful. My fingerprints weren’t on any messages or evidence. I’d simply pointed the right people in the right direction, and        let their sense of duty carry the rest.

Watching June that morning was bittersweet. She walked with her head high, but I could see the strain in her eyes. Once, I might have felt sorry for her. But leadership is about making hard choices, and June had become an obstacle I couldn’t work around. Her removal would clear the way for real reform, for a school where discipline and integrity meant something again-or so, I don’t really care much about those things.

Still, I knew this was only the beginning. Jabari would see this as a declaration of war. The Order on the boys’ side would tighten up, and there would be consequences. But for now, I had the upper hand. The school was looking to me for stability, for answers, for leadership. I intended to give them all three.

As I watched the administration scramble and the student body buzz with rumors, I felt the weight of power settle on my shoulders-heavy, but not unwelcome. This was what it meant to lead: to shape events, to protect the school, and, when necessary, to make sure the right people paid the price.

And if I had to do it again, I would. Because in the end, history remembers the victors, not the casualties.