Forgery? Kitui County Minister in trouble with EACC, DCI over 'forged' academic certificates

Mr Philip Mumo, Kitui county executive member in charge of Trade, Cooperatives and Investments. [Philip Muasya, Standard]

A Kitui county executive committee member is under investigation over the authenticity of his academic credentials.

Philip Mumo, who is in charge of Trade, Cooperatives and Investments at the county government, yesterday confirmed that he had recorded a statement with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

The investigators have his original academic certificates for verification.

“Yes I am aware of the investigations by DCI and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). I learnt about it from the county secretary when the two bodies wrote to him. EACC have not written to me personally, but DCI did and I recorded a statement with them,” Mumo told Sunday Standard yesterday.

According to the EACC letter addressed to Kitui County Secretary Alex Kimanzi on March 28, 2019, the commission is investigating Mumo on allegations of having presented forged KCSE certificate and a degree certificate from Mt Kenya University during the vetting process that led to his appointment.

Certified copies

“The commission is investigating allegations touching on the employment status of Mr Philip Mutinda Mumo,” the letter, which was received by the county secretary on April 2, reads in part.

The commission demands that the county secretary furnishes it with certified copies of Mumo’s appointment letter, his pay slips from the period he was appointed up to March 2019 and “any other correspondences incidental to his appointment process.”  

Mumo said that by the time EACC was writing to them to demand his academic certificates, he had already handed them over to the DCI.

Yesterday, Kitui County DCI boss Paul Wachira confirmed that they were indeed investigating the senior county officer but declined to divulge how far the investigation had gone.

Mumo insisted that his degree in Business Administration Information Technology option (BBIT) from Mt Kenya University is genuine.