The Nyamira County Government has recently taken stringent actions against 324 employees after uncovering instances of fraudulent academic qualifications and unauthorized promotions. Addressing the press from his office, Governor Amos Nyaribo highlighted the substantial annual loss of Sh4.5 million incurred by the county due to these irregularities.
Among the county’s workforce of 4,100 employees, Nyaribo revealed that 245 individuals had received promotions through irregular means, while 79 had secured their positions using counterfeit certificates. To address this issue, the government has submitted 2,800 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education certificates for verification to the Kenya National Examinations Council, with 76 identified as fraudulent.
Various colleges across the nation are also scrutinizing the 2,800 post-secondary education certificates. Three cases of forged diploma and degree certificates have been reported thus far. Nyaribo detailed the discrepancies noted by the KNEC, including alterations of mean grades, subject scores, and inconsistent examination center codes. Some certificates even featured index numbers that did not correspond to the officers, while others had names replaced with those of the individuals.
Surprisingly, the Department of Health accounted for the highest number of employees with fake academic credentials, totaling 24 cases. The Departments of Finance and Public Service Management closely followed, each reporting 13 cases of staff with questionable qualifications.
Affected employees have been officially notified, with steps taken to halt their salaries. Disciplinary proceedings have commenced against those irregularly promoted, with immediate cessation of salaries for the 79 individuals. Nyaribo affirmed that letters of notification had already been dispatched, and disciplinary and administrative actions were underway.
The county plans to forward the report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigation. Additionally, the second batch of academic certificates will be submitted to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and middle-level colleges next week for verification. Administrative measures regarding irregular promotions are set to be implemented this month against 245 staff members, pending completion of the report by the County Public Service Board.
