By John Majau
Former Meru Sports Executive Daniel Kiogora has appeared in a Meru court where he was charged with 12 counts forging academic certificate.
Kiogora was arrested by the Anti Corruption Agency on Monday evening for allegedly forging his University degree certificate that he later used to successfully apply for work at the Meru County government.
He was accused of presenting fake degree certificate to Meru County Assembly Select Committee during vetting of the executive which indicated that he graduated with a second-class, upper division Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Nairobi in 2010.
Before Meru Law Court Senior Principal Magistrate Stella Abuya, the Court also heard that Kiogora presented false information to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on September 11,2017 by providing a self-declaration form which had false information depicting that he held a degree from Nairobi University as his highest academic qualification.
The Court was told that the former CECM was improperly recommended for the appointment as the sports executive after presenting the fake documents purporting to be genuine degree certificates issued by University of Nairobi.
It was heard that Kiogora made the said false documents on an unknown date with the intent to deceive that he holds a degree certificate in Bachelor of Commerce (Accounts Option).
Mr Kiogora was also accused of making false first year undergraduate transcripts with a registration number D33/11432/06 purporting to be genuine academic transcript issued to him by University of Nairobi.
The accused was further charged with making false Second year, third year, fourth year transcripts under the same registration number which he purported to be genuine academic transcripts from University of Nairobi.
The court also heard that between September 25 and 26, 2017 Kiogora fraudulently presented the false transcripts to the Meru County Government claiming to be genuine first year to fourth year University of Nairobi academic transcripts.
While pleading for a favorable bond, Marius Maranya, lawyer to the accused noted that the accused had presented himself to the police voluntarily when called by police to answer charges against him.
Maranya also termed Kiogora as a law-abiding citizen who voluntarily presented himself to the court despite having been released on a police bond after he was arrested on Monday by the EACC officers.
He added that Kiogora was currently jobless after his contract ended and is currently seeking for a job.
Mr Maranya said the defense team was ready to prove that the accused did not commit any offense but was being triumphed politically.
“The particulars of the charge sheet are an alleged offence that occurred in September 2017 and has been kept under the files and now represented to you four years later especially at the eve of a political campaign where my client is a serious contender for a seat,” Maranya told the court.
Maranya called on the court to refrain from being used by politicians to settle their political scores by subjecting law-abiding citizens into suffering.
He urged the court to grant Kiogora a reasonable and favorable bond or a personal bond asserting that he has no income and requires time to set his defense team.
“The essence of the bond is to ensure the accused presents himself to the court which he has done in the past and has done today and he will represent himself at whatever time required. My client has been a state officer and has never been accused of any other offence,” Maranya said.
On her side the Director of Public Prosecution opposed releasing the accused on personal bond asserting that he never presented himself to the police station as alleged by his defense team.
The DPP noted that Kiogora was arrested at his home in Githongo region on Monday before being released on a cash bail of Sh. 100,000.
Additionally, the DPP termed the nature of offence charged on the accused as very serious
“Being a state officer, I urge the court to issue the stringiest bond term that commensurate with the serious offence that the accused has been charged with,” the DPP said.
Mr Kiogora denied all the charges before Magistrate Abuya at Meru Law Court and was released on Sh. 1million bond or cash bail of Sh 500,000.
Denying the accused the personal bond Magistrate Abuya noted that he had been charged with a serious offence.
The case will be mentioned on July 19, 2021 and followed by a hearing on September 20, 2021.
Earlier, University of Nairobi in May 2019 disowned Mr Kiogora’s degree after one of the MCAs sent an inquiry letter to the university seeking to establish the authenticity of his degree in February the same year.
The University was responding to Municipality MCA Elias Murega’s inquiry on February 10.
Murega had sent an inquiry letter to the university’s deputy vice chancellor seeking to establish the authenticity of Kiogora’s academic credentials.
The university, through their academic registrar E M Mbuya, upon checking their 2010 graduation booklet, wrote back on February 15 to Mr Murega, distancing themselves from Mr Kiogora’s academic documents and terming them a forgery.
“The degree certificate and transcripts forwarded to us for Daniel Kiogora are not authentic and were not issued by the University of Nairobi. The name does not appear in the graduation booklet of December 3, 2010. This is a clear case of forgery,” read the letter.
