NAIROBI, Kenya- A former accountant at the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) has been fined KSh130,000 after admitting she used a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate to obtain employment.
Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Ndombi convicted Lilian Mweche Muyumba on two counts after she pleaded guilty under an agreement with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The court fined her Sh30,000 for uttering a false document and KSh100,000 for presenting a forged certificate.
If she fails to pay, she will serve one year in prison for the first offence and two years for the second, according to the case information provided by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
Plea agreement withdrew forgery count
The charge sheet listed three offences: forgery, uttering a false document and presenting a forged certificate.
Under the plea agreement, Muyumba pleaded guilty to the latter two counts. The prosecution agreed to withdraw the forgery count, which was listed as Count One.
The agreement records that Muyumba admitted the case facts and entered her plea voluntarily.
It also states that the prosecution had prepared witness and documentary evidence in support of the charges.
The court case arose from her use of a KCSE certificate purporting to show that she sat the November/December 1996 examinations at Moi Girls Secondary School, Nangili, and attained a mean grade of C+.
The charge sheet says the certificate carried examination index number 603808/041 and purported to have been issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).
According to the charge sheet, Muyumba presented the document to the then Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board in Nairobi on May 27, 2014, seeking employment as an assistant accountant. The EACC said its investigation established that she submitted the certificate to secure employment at NuPEA.
The offence of uttering a false document relates to knowingly presenting or using a document that is not genuine as if it were authentic.
The separate charge of presenting a forged certificate was brought under Section 34(a) of the Kenya National Examinations Council Act.
EACC says conviction should deter certificate fraud
The EACC investigated the matter and submitted its findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who brought the charges.
The Commission welcomed the conviction, saying the outcome should discourage others from using forged academic documents to obtain jobs.
The case highlights the legal consequences of presenting false academic qualifications during recruitment.
A forged certificate can mislead an employer about an applicant’s education and qualifications, while also undermining confidence in recruitment processes—particularly where public institutions are involved.
Muyumba’s guilty plea resolved the case without a full trial.
The plea agreement set out the offences she admitted, the count the prosecution agreed to withdraw and the fines recommended by both sides.
The court then imposed the fines, with prison terms to apply if she does not pay.
The conviction concerns the two counts to which she pleaded guilty.
The original forgery count was withdrawn as part of the agreement.
