Twins Ikran and Umaima Mohamed Maalim were among the top scorers in the KCPE exams, scoring 402 and 401 points, respectively.
The sisters who attended Al Huda Integrated Academy in Mandera East were always competitive with one another.
Jamal Abdullahi, the school manager, said Ikran and Umaima were the most diligent of the candidates who took the exams.
"They had always scored the same marks in primary school until now when one defeated the other by one point," Abdullahi said.
Their mother Amina Musa said the sisters have always been close and it is no surprise that they almost tied in marks. "They used to go to school together, read together and always passed their internal school exams with flying colours," she said.