Two former public institution employees in Nairobi have appeared in Milimani Anti-Corruption Court accused of using forged academic certificates to obtain employment.
John Murira Mwicigi, who worked as a security supervisor at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC), allegedly submitted a fake Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate. The certificate, purportedly issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), indicated attendance at Githaiga Secondary School, which investigations found to be false.
Prosecutors say Mwicigi used the forged document to secure his position and received salaries totaling approximately KSh 15.86 million from 2007 until December 2023. He faces charges including fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery, and uttering a false document.
Kevine Agweyo Okullo, a former heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technician at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral, and Research Hospital (KUTRRH), was separately charged with submitting a forged Grade II Trade Test Certificate in Refrigeration. The certificate was allegedly issued by the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA).
Okullo faces charges of providing false information, forgery, and uttering a false document. Both suspects denied the charges when arraigned and were released on a cash bail of KSh 100,000 or a bond of KSh 1 million with a surety of the same amount.
These cases underscore ongoing concerns about academic certificate fraud within Kenya's public sector, where multiple government agencies and state corporations have uncovered similar incidents.
