A former accountant at the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) has been fined Ksh130,000 after admitting to using forged academic documents to obtain employment at the state corporation.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) announced the conviction on Friday, October 23, following a ruling delivered at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court earlier in the week.
The ex-government employee faced three charges relating to forgery, presenting a fraudulent certificate, and using a false document.
According to the commission, the accused pleaded guilty to the latter two charges under an agreement reached with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
A view of the EACC headquarters at Integrity Centre, located at the Jakaya Kikwete and Valley Road junction in Nairobi.
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EACC
“She was subsequently charged with three offences: forgery of a KCSE certificate, uttering a false document contrary to Section 353 as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code, and presenting a forged certificate contrary to Section 34(a) of the Kenya National Examinations Council Act. She pleaded guilty to the latter two charges,” EACC stated.
EACC’s investigations found that she presented a falsified Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate claiming she had sat her examinations at Moi Girls Secondary School, Nangili, in 1996.
The document was allegedly presented to satisfy the academic qualifications required for the accountant position at NuPEA.
The document was allegedly used to meet the stipulated academic requirements for the accountant position at NuPEA.
Magistrate Rose Ndombi imposed a Ksh30,000 fine for uttering a false document and a further Ksh100,000 penalty for presenting the forged certificate.
The court ordered that failure to pay would attract prison terms of one year and two years, respectively, for the two offences.
EACC said the conviction should serve as a warning to those seeking to secure employment using falsified academic credentials.
The case comes amid a broader crackdown on public servants suspected of securing government jobs with forged credentials and unlawfully gaining access to public funds.
On Thursday, October 22, EACC announced the arrest of a former Office of the Auditor-General employee accused of using a forged KCSE certificate to secure employment and fraudulently acquire more than Ksh5.8 million in public funds.
Entrance to Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi.
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The Judiciary of Kenya.