The Kenyan government has terminated the employment of 449 civil servants who secured their positions or promotions using forged academic certificates, according to the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) Annual Compliance Report for the 2023/2024 Financial Year.
This figure represents 52.3% of the total 1,019 employees identified with fraudulent credentials.
The report indicated that action has been taken against 744 individuals, accounting for 73% of the total cases. Among these, 181 (17.8%) officers’ statuses remain unspecified, while 79 (7.8%) are still under investigation.
Further findings showed that 181 individuals (21.1%) resigned voluntarily, and 26 (3%) retired. Disciplinary actions were pursued for 10 officers (1.2%), with eight (0.9%) referred for prosecution.
Investigations are ongoing for 79 cases (9.2%), while 70 individuals (8.1%) are still undergoing disciplinary procedures.
The PSC noted that 70.5% of institutions have conducted verification exercises to authenticate the academic and professional qualifications of their staff. However, many institutions failed to provide updates on the status of their verification efforts.
“Most (67 per cent) of the institutions that had not authenticated certificates of their officers committed to do so by June 30, 2025,” PSC said in the report.
The PSC recommended that all public institutions institutionalise certificate verification for new hires and promotions to prevent future cases of forgery.
Institutions have been directed to terminate the services of employees found guilty of using fake qualifications and forward their details to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Commenting on the development, Jim Webo expressed satisfaction with the dismissals but questioned the accountability of those who facilitated the employment of unqualified individuals.
“The sacking of 449 civil servants out of the 1,019 staff found to have used fake academic certificates to get employment is good news, indeed,” he said.
“The ongoing investigations will definitely increase the number of those to be axed, which is super. But what of those who took bribes to offer the jobs to these unqualified people? They should not be allowed to go scot-free,” he added.