Nairobi Water driver convicted over forged KCSE certificate, ordered to pay Sh7.5 million

Nairobi Water driver convicted over forged KCSE certificate, ordered to pay Sh7.5 million

The court found that he had presented a KCSE certificate indicating he attained a mean grade of C (plain) in the 2002 examination, whereas he had actually obtained a D (plain).

The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court has convicted a Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company (NCWSC) employee for using a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate to secure employment, ordering him to pay Sh7,542,673 in compensation and fines or serve a four-year jail term in default.

The conviction follows investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which received a report that Kelly Gichuri Muiruri had used a forged academic certificate to secure employment at NCWSC.

Upon completing its investigations, the Commission forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions with recommendations for prosecution.

Muiruri was arraigned in court in June last year and charged with five counts, including fraudulently acquiring public property in the form of salaries amounting to Sh6.7 million from the water company by submitting a forged KCSE certificate, forgery, uttering a false document, deceiving a principal, and presenting a forged document from Muhuri Muchiri Secondary School purporting to be a genuine certificate issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

He allegedly used the document to secure employment as a driver after claiming to have attained the stated KCSE results at the school.

In a judgment delivered on October 29, 2026, Principal Magistrate Celesa Okore convicted Muiruri on four counts: fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, deceiving a principal, and presenting a forged certificate.

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The court found that he had presented a KCSE certificate indicating he attained a mean grade of C (plain) in the 2002 examination, whereas he had actually obtained a D (plain). Muiruri was, however, acquitted of the forgery charge.

The court ordered him to pay Sh6,742,673 in compensation for salaries received between November 2016 and December 2023 or serve four years' imprisonment in default.

In addition, the court imposed fines totalling Sh800,000, comprising Sh300,000 for fraudulent acquisition of public property, or 12 months' imprisonment in default, and Sh200,000 for uttering a false document, or eight months' imprisonment in default.

He was also fined Sh200,000 for deceiving a principal, or eight months' imprisonment in default, and a further Sh100,000 for presenting a forged certificate, or eight months' imprisonment in default.

The court further directed that the default prison terms attached to the four fines run consecutively.

"The Commission urges employers to verify academic and professional qualifications as part of recruitment procedures to safeguard public resources and uphold integrity in public service," EACC said on Friday.