Former Rerec official charged with forging certificate

Former Manager at REREC Noah Okech Oluoch at a Milimani court when he was charged with using a forged Masters degree from the University of Nairobi to acquire employment. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

A court in Nairobi has granted a former employee of Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (Rerec) a cash bail of Sh500,000 over fraud charges.

Noah Okech who worked as a General Manager in charge of Finance and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at Rerec had been charged with allegedly forging a Master’s Degree certificate to secure employment at the state corporation.

Okech was presented before Milimani Anti-corruption Chief Magistrate Victor Wakhumile on Wednesday where he denied three counts of fraud following investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption and Ethics Commission (EACC).

In the first count, he was charged that between April 1, 2022 and August 2022 within Nairobi county being a public officer employed as General Manager, Finance and ICT at Rerec, he fraudulently acquired a salary and allowances amounting to Sh1.4 million from the corporation having been employed using a forged degree certificate.

Okech was also charged with acquiring a forged Master of Business Administration degree in his name purporting it to be a genuine document issued by the University of Nairobi a fact he knew to be false.

On the third count, he was charged that on March 23, 2021 he fraudulently uttered a forged Master of Business Administration degree in his name to the Rerec Chief Executive officer Peter Mbugua purporting it to be a genuine document issued to him by the University of Nairobi

Okech who was arrested on Tuesday had asked the court to release him on a cash bail of Sh70 000.

Wakhumile ordered the accused to be released on a cash bail of Sh500,000 with one contact person or provide a bond of Sh1 million plus one surety.

The court directed that the matter be mentioned on April 17.

His defense counsel asked the court to release him on lenient bail terms arguing that he was not a flight risk and had homes in Rongo, Migori county and Lang’ata, Nairobi.

"The accused person is a family man with a wife and school going children. He has also been cooperating well with EACC officers when summoned," said his lawyer.