Man Believed to Be World's Oldest Student Dies

NAIROBI, Kenya – Relatives say an 89-year-old Kenyan man believed to be the world's oldest pupil has died.

Joseph Stephen Kimani Nganga Maruge died Friday at a home for the aged in Kenya. His granddaughter, Ann Maruge, said he died of stomach cancer.

Maruge enrolled in primary school in January 2004 after the Kenyan government decided to make primary school free. The Guinness Book of World Records listed Maruge as the world's oldest primary school pupil.

When he enrolled, Maruge said his biggest ambition was to be able to read the Bible.