Wycliffe Omwaka received his Kenya Certificate for Secondary Education (KCSE) after waiting for thirteen years.
According to a statement shared by the Office of the Ombudsman, a commission formed to tackle improper administration of justice, Omwaka missed several opportunities for not submitting a passport photo for his KCSE certificate.
The ombudsman noted that the affected person sat for his KCSE exams in 2010 at the Kisumu Boys High School and did not attach his photo during exam registration.
“Omwaka sat for his KCSE exams in 2010 at the Kisumu Boys High School and KNEC did not issue him with the KCSE certificate on grounds that he had not submitted his passport photo,” the Ombudsman stated.
“He visited the KNECS offices in February 2019 and was advised to get a letter from his school confirming that he never received the certificate and to also take a passport photo to KNECS offices. He was further advised to upload the letter and the passport online on the KNECS Query Management Information System (QMIS) which he did, however, since 2019, the process was still pending,” it added.
Following a prolonged delay, Omwaka decided to file a complaint at the Office of the Ombudsman who helped him reach out to KNEC’s top leadership.
After 13 years, the Ombudsman helped him get his KCSE certificate.
“The delay by KNEC to issue him with the KCSE certificate caused him untold suffering as he missed several job opportunities and could not produce his KCSE certificate which was an important document in job applications.
His suffering and continued unresponsiveness by the exams council pushed him to seek the intervention of the Commission on 18th August 2023. The Commission by way of inquiry took up the matter with the Chief Executive Officer, KNEC leading to immediate issuance of the KCSE certificate to Omwaka who confirmed the same in an email to the Commission,” the Ombudsman confirmed.
