The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has warned civil servants and others holding fake certificates that their days are numbered, with the agency’s chairperson Bishop David Oginde sating that the government will soon catch up with such individuals.
Speaking in Kisumu, Bishop Oginde said those who have been earning through such forged documents will be arrested and prosecuted.
The anti-graft czar said the culprits will also be surcharged for the money they illegally earned even if they have worked for twenty years.
“It does not matter how long one has worked; the truth of the matter is that such individuals will be held to account,” he said.
Oginde said forging academic certificates has no future since the price is quite heavy.
The chairperson said those forging academic certificates were eroding the image of the government, especially when people who have genuine documents do not find work and have to look abroad for jobs.
He also expressed dismay that cases of individuals grabbing land belonging to learning institutions have been on the increase.
Earlier, the agency’s CEO Twalib Mbarak had said the amounts of money lost to such racketeers could easily run into millions of shillings.
“There are many employees with questionable academic certificates,” Twalib Mbarak, CEO of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), had said.
Mbarak warned that the issue of fake certificates on the loose is real and efforts must be made to find a lasting solution and bring the criminals to justice.
“If you arrest one criminal, nine are on the loose,” Mbarak revealed at a ceremony marking the World Day Against Corruption.
EACC Deputy CEO Abdi Mohamud told Parliament that some employers are fully aware they are hiring and promoting employees with fake certificates.
“Employers, universities and colleges bear significant blame for the forgery of academic certificates in public service,” he said.
He advised employers to carry out sufficient background checks on academic certificates submitted by job seekers and employees seeking promotion.
By Fredrick Odiero
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