Two former public sector employees have been charged at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court over allegations that they used forged academic certificates to secure employment, with one accused of earning over Ksh15.86 million in salaries through the fraud.
The suspects, John Murira Mwicigi, a former Security Supervisor at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), and Kevine Agweyo Okullo, a former technician at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), were arraigned separately on Wednesday and denied the charges against them.
According to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Mwicigi presented a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate purportedly issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), indicating he had studied at Githaiga Secondary School. Investigations established that he was never a student at the institution.
The commission said the forged document enabled Mwicigi to secure employment at NCWSC, where he worked from 2007 until December 2023, earning salaries totaling Ksh15.86 million during that period. He now faces charges of fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery and uttering a false document, after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions concurred with EACC’s recommendation to prosecute.
In the second case, Okullo is accused of submitting a forged Certificate in Refrigeration Grade II Trade Test, purportedly issued by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA), while applying for a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Technician position at KUTRRH. He was charged with providing false information, forgery and uttering a false document.
Both suspects were released on a Ksh100,000 cash bail or a Ksh1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount as the cases proceed.
The charges come days after a former Deputy Director of Audit at the Office of the Auditor General, Hannah Wambui Mwaura, was separately arrested and later arraigned over similar allegations. EACC claims Mwaura used a forged Mount Kenya University degree to rise through the ranks, allegedly earning more than Ksh28 million in salaries before her arrest.
The cases form part of EACC’s wider crackdown on academic fraud in public institutions, as the commission works with the ODPP to pursue prosecutions and recover unlawfully earned public funds.
