An employee of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) in Kenya has been apprehended by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for allegedly forging academic credentials to secure a position at the agency.
The EACC issued a statement Thursday on X, revealing that the employee, Javason Kimemia Maina, was found to possess a counterfeit KCSE certificate from Kimuri Secondary School, which he utilised for career advancement. This discovery was made after the Commission conducted a thorough investigation into the matter.
Maina, who was arrested on Tuesday, was presented before the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court after the EACC submitted its recommendations to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The charges include “fraudulently acquiring public property worth Ksh.293,240 in salaries, forgery, and uttering a false document.” EACC stated that Maina was “released on a bond of Ksh.700,000 with a surety of the same amount or a cash bail of Ksh.400,000.”
The case has been adjourned for a hearing on February 26, 2024.
Amidst a recent crackdown on public servants using fake certificates to secure positions and promotions, the Public Service Commission (PSC) released a Report on Tuesday, February 13, exposing over 2,067 forgery cases identified in public institutions in the country.
The Report on Forged Academic Certificates was handed over to the EACC and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, “to take legal action against individuals, who used fake certificates to join public service.”
“Action will be taken against any culpable head of a state agency involved in attempts to protect academic cheats,” stated the EACC.
“The law allows EACC to recover all salaries and benefits earned based on fake academic qualifications. In addition, the offenders are liable to criminal prosecution,” the Commission’s Chairperson David Oginde said few days ago.