NAIROBI – A report of a high school student tragically dying in Garissa County just hours before the start of the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations is false. An investigation by Streamline News has confirmed the incident occurred in Uganda and involved a Ugandan national, correcting misinformation that had caused concern among Kenyan parents and students.

The deceased student has been identified as Luzige Douglas Davis, a candidate who was scheduled to sit for his S.4 Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) exams. He was a student at Uganda Martyrs Secondary School in Kayunga. According to a social media post by his uncle, Musisi Frank HP, Davis passed away at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, 2 November 2025, at Mulago Specialised Hospital in Kampala. The initial, incorrect reports circulating in Kenya had mistakenly placed the event in Garissa, causing confusion and alarm as KCSE candidates began their theory papers.

The misattribution of the tragedy to Garissa appears to stem from a location tag in one of the early online articles. However, all verifiable details of the event point exclusively to Uganda. The student, his school, the hospital where he passed, and the national examination body (UNEB) are all based in Uganda.

Context: KCSE 2025 Examinations in Kenya

Meanwhile, in Kenya, the 2025 KCSE examinations are proceeding as scheduled. The exams officially began on Tuesday, 21 October 2025, with oral and practical papers. The theory papers, which involve the majority of the 996,078 registered candidates, commenced on Monday, 3 November 2025, and are set to conclude on Friday, 21 November 2025. The Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) has deployed thousands of centre managers, supervisors, and security officers to oversee the nationwide exercise.

The examination period in Kenya is often marked by heightened stress and anxiety for students, parents, and educators. The high-stakes nature of the KCSE, which largely determines a student's entry into higher education and future career paths, creates immense pressure. This environment makes the public particularly sensitive to news concerning student welfare, which likely contributed to the rapid spread of the unverified report about the student's death.

The Challenge of Misinformation

This incident serves as a critical reminder of the challenge of verifying information sourced from social media. The emotional nature of the story, coupled with the ongoing KCSE exams, created a fertile ground for misinformation to spread. While the grief of the family in Uganda is real and profound, its misrepresentation in a Kenyan context highlights the need for rigorous fact-checking by news consumers and journalists alike.

Kenyan education officials and authorities in Garissa County have not issued any statements regarding a local student's death related to exams, as the event did not occur within their jurisdiction. All official communications from KNEC have been focused on the smooth administration of the ongoing national examinations. The focus for Kenyan stakeholders remains on ensuring a safe and supportive environment for the nearly one million candidates sitting for their final secondary school assessment.