Fake Degree Certificate Costs Former Nairobi Water Official Sh5 Million

A version of this article appeared on NTV Kenya.

An internal certificate verification exercise conducted by the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) Limited has culminated in the conviction of a former employee who used a forged university degree to secure employment and draw millions of shillings in salaries.

Senior Principal Magistrate Celesa Asis Okore found Okandah William John guilty of multiple charges, including fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, and deceiving his employer.

The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court established that the accused forged a Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate, purporting it to be issued by the University of Nairobi (UON), to secure a position as a Revenue Collection Assistant at the utility firm.

According to evidence presented by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the individual was employed on August 3, 2016, and remained on the public payroll until November 2023, unlawfully receiving a total of Sh4,749,597 in salaries and benefits.

The fraud was uncovered when NCWSC forwarded 162 degree certificates of its staff members to academic institutions for authentication, an audit that revealed three non-genuine documents.

University officials testified that the convict never enrolled at the institution, noting that his name did not exist in student records, graduation booklets, or the university management system.

Furthermore, the forged certificate claimed to have been issued during a congregation on December 4, 1998, a date when the university held no such ceremony, having conducted its sole graduation that year on November 30.

The magistrate ruled that the earned salaries constituted public property obtained through unlawful means, as the water company relied entirely on the false academic qualification during the recruitment process.

Although the court found that the presentation of the false document was deliberate, the accused was acquitted on the specific charge of forgery, because prosecutors failed to demonstrate that he personally created or altered the physical certificate.

The court imposed a mandatory fine equivalent to the Sh4,749,597 illegally acquired, or a two-year prison sentence, alongside additional fines of Sh300,000 for the other counts, bringing the total financial penalty to Sh5,049,597.

Magistrate Okore emphasised that adherence to moral and ethical principles remains paramount for the protection of public resources and ensuring institutional accountability.