A staff member at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NAWASCO) has been apprehended over allegations of forgery of an academic certificate to land a lucrative job, which earned him millions.
The apprehension was made by detectives from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), who established that the individual presented a fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate.
The certificate was purported to have been issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC)—thereby helping the accused to land the job at NAWASCO.
As a result of the forgery, the accused was able to fraudulently make over Ksh9 million in public funds as salary between March 2010 and December 2023.
According to EACC, an investigation was launched after reports were received that the certificates were forged. Upon verification, the commission confirmed that indeed the academic papers were fake.
"The Commission launched investigations following allegations that the accused used a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate, falsely presented as genuine and issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), to secure employment at the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company," a statement from EACC read.
A case file was subsequently forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved the prosecution of the individual.
According to section 349 of the Penal Code, creating a false document with the intent to deceive carries a punishment of up to 3 years' imprisonment, a fine or both.
Further, according to Section 41 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA), knowingly giving false information to an employer (the “principal”) to gain employment can carry a 10-year imprisonment.
With this in mind, the official is expected to face prosecution for forgery, deceiving a principal, and fraudulent acquisition of public property.
The latest incident of forgery comes barely two months after four former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials were found to have forged certificates to gain employment at the electoral agency and earned over Ksh35 million.
One of the officials whose details were gazetted by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Friday is said to have forged a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and degree certificates to secure employment as a Clerical Officer with the IEBC.
