Nairobi Water employee slapped with Sh7.5 million in fines over forged certificate

The Court found that Muiruri presented a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate. [Getty Images]

An employee of Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company (NWSC) has been slapped with Sh7.54 million in fines over forged academic certificate.
The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court convicted Kelly Gichuri Muiruri after being found guilty of using a forged academic certificate to secure employment at the company as a driver.
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Celesa Okore said Muiruri had been convicted on four counts of fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, deceiving a principal and presenting a forged certificate.
He was, however, acquitted of the charge of forgery.
The Court found that Muiruri presented a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate indicating that he had attained a mean grade of C plain in the 2002 examination, whereas he had obtained a D plain.
The case arose from investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following a report that Muiruri had used a forged academic certificate to secure employment at NCWSC. 
Upon completing its investigations, EACC forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions with recommendations for prosecution.
As a result, Justice Okore ordered Muiruri 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.
Some Sh200,000 for uttering a false document, or eight months’ imprisonment in default, Sh200,000 for deceiving a principal, or eight months’ imprisonment in default and Sh100,000 for presenting a forged certificate, or eight months’ imprisonment in default.
The Court directed that the default prison terms attached to the four fines run consecutively.