CRACKDOWN ON FAKE ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS INTENSIFIES AS SUSPECTS FACE LEGAL ACTION
After comprehensive investigations implicating three employees of Sports, Arts and Social Development Funds (SASDF), three suspects have been arraigned for the offences of Forgery, Making a document without authority and uttering a false document at the Milimani Law Courts.
John Onyango Odhiambo, 44, Adan Bagajo Lamma, 44, and George Ereng Lotieng, 35, who were employed as drivers, were arrested for submitting fake academic certificates to secure jobs and enhance their pay grades.
John Onyango had submitted a falsified 2011 KCSE certificate from Starays Hope Community Center, Nairobi, while Adan Lamma presented a counterfeit 1998 KCSE certificate from Marsabit Boys High School despite having dropped out in form two.
Similarly, George Ereng Lotieng submitted a forged KCSE certificate from St. Marks Boys High school, Cherangany, where he had also dropped out in form two.
A report from KNEC revealed that John Onyango manipulated the grades of all the subjects he had taken to achieve a mean grade of D+ in order to meet the qualification threshold for the job.
As for Adan, he had neither registered nor sat the said exam since the center (Marsabit Boys) under code 501512 did not exist during the 1998 KCSE examinations.
Such was the case with George Ereng, whose alleged centre of examination (St. Mark Boys High Sch) did not exist as of 2010, and the code indicated in his certificate (401057) belonged to a different school, Ruthimitu Secondary.
The suspects were charged Friday at the Milimani Law Courts.
According to the Public Service Commission, more than 2,000 government employees are culpable of using forged academic and professional qualifications to secure jobs or earn promotions.
Meanwhile, the DCI is working closely with other government agencies to investigate the cases.
