The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested and charged a man on accusations of forging academic certificates to get a government job.
EACC detectives arrested Javanson Kimemia Maina for allegedly forging a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate, which he used to get a job at a state agency.
Until his arrest, Maina was an employee of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC). According to investigations by the EACC, the accused allegedly forged a KCSE certificate in the name of Kimuri Secondary School. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), after concurring with the investigators, instituted charges against the accused.
Man in court over defrauding government KSh 293k. He was arraigned for fraudulent acquisition of public property before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court.
The fraud is hinged on the fact that he fraudulently earned KSh 293,240 as an employee of REREC courtesy of the forged certificate. Maina denied the charges and requested lenient bail. The court granted him a KSh 700,000 bond with the same surety or, alternatively, a KSh 400,000 cash bail. The matter will come up in court on February 26 for a pre-trial conference.
EACC also indicated that it was breaking down a report on the authentication of academic and professional certificates within the public service and would charge all those who would be found liable for forgery.
The report indicated that at least 2000 public servants, the majority from the Ministry of Interior and Energy, used fake academic certificates to secure employment. Besides analysing the report, the agency has declared that it will go after public entities that did not forward all the names of their employees for the vetting of their academic and professional credentials.
EACC has been firm that every public servant found to have gotten a job using fake academic credentials will be forced to reimburse all the salaries they ever earned.
