Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested and charged a former employee of the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) who is accused of using a falsified secondary school certificate to obtain his job. He was arrested at his home in Kibera, Nairobi, on Thursday 22 October 2026 and arraigned at the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court, according to Kenyans.co.ke and Citizen Digital.

What is alleged

The EACC alleges that the man presented a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate that appeared to have been issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and showed that he had sat his examinations at Orero Secondary School. The commission says the certificate was falsified and that he used it to secure employment at the OAG.

According to the EACC, the appointment led to the fraudulent acquisition of public property worth Ksh5,876,203.89, or roughly Ksh5.9 million.

After the commission sent its investigation file to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the DPP approved three charges: forgery, presenting a forged certificate and fraudulent acquisition of public property. The accused was released on cash bail of Ksh300,000, or an alternative bond of Ksh800,000 with a surety of a similar amount. The case will be mentioned on 5 November 2026 for directions. He has not been convicted, and the charges remain allegations until the court rules.

Part of a wider push

This is one of several cases this month in which the EACC has taken former public employees to court over allegedly forged academic documents. Kenyans.co.ke reported that earlier in October a former Kenya Airports Authority employee was charged over an allegedly forged bachelor's degree certificate, and a former Kiambu County Assembly employee was charged over an allegedly forged KCSE certificate linked to about Ksh6.3 million in salary paid between 2016 and 2025.

In each case the alleged loss to the public is calculated mainly from salary paid over years of service. This shows how a forged document that goes unchecked at the point of hiring can become a long-running cost.

Verifying school-leaving certificates

Employers checking secondary-level results should confirm them directly with the examining body that issued them, rather than relying on a paper certificate or a photocopy. Checks should also cover long-serving staff whose documents were never independently verified when they were hired.

Mismatches in the school name, candidate number or year of sitting are common warning signs. Any discrepancy should be referred back to the examining body for confirmation before a decision is made about the employee.

Sources

This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.

KenyaEACCforged certificatepublic sector hiringKCSE

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