Kenyan OAP pupil taken into care

Kenya's oldest pupil, 88-year-old Kimani Nganga Maruge, has been forced to abandon his studies and move into a home for the aged, his school has said.

Teachers said Mr Maruge had been identified as vulnerable by the Red Cross following the unrest which shook the country after December's election. Mr Maruge's schooling was disrupted in January, when his home was burnt down.

The great grandfather has held since 2004 the world record for being the oldest person to start primary school.



Mr Maruge enrolled at Kapkenduywa Primary in Eldoret a year after the Kenyan government introduced free primary schooling.

The school's head teacher, Jane Obinchu, said he had never missed school before and so when he failed to show up on Thursday, they began to look for him. "We immediately had to establish what had gone wrong to ascertain our fears before his fellow pupils told us they had seen him aboard a Red Cross vehicle".

The Red Cross later confirmed Mr Maruge had been taken into care.