A fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate presented by a Kiambu politician to earn him a spot in the university has earned him a four-year jail term.
In a ruling delivered by the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi on Tuesday, November 8, the man was found guilty of forging a document which he claimed was from the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
The former Member of County Assembly (MCA) was slapped with a Ksh500,000 fine for making a false document contrary to sections 347(a) and 349 of the Penal Code.
He was also found guilty of uttering a false document contrary to section 353 of the Penal Code and was asked to pay a Ksh250,000.
Failure to pay the cash penalties would attract a two-year jail term for each of the two charges, totalling four years.
The politician had presented the doctored KCSE certificate to gain admission for a diploma course at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched investigations into the authenticity of the academic certificate after a colleague in the county assembly anonymously tipped the commission on the alleged fraud.
Following the reports, the Juja-based JKUAT revoked the diploma certificate it issued to the former lawmaker.
This came after KNEC conducted an independent enquiry on the paper in question and established that the accused did not sit his KCSE exam at Murera Secondary School as indicated.
The ruling came amid concerns by stakeholders in the Education sector over the influx of fake academic papers and the ease of generating the same in the country.
On October 18, EACC issued a circular to the leadership of academic institutions to jointly create a long-lasting solution to ensure that all certificates presented are genuine.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer Abdi Mohamud directed stakeholders to handle the matter with agency as it threatened to undermine the credibility and integrity of Kenya's education system.
