NAIROBI, Kenya – A former senior manager at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) has been fined more than Sh3 million or face a four-year jail term after being found guilty of using a forged academic certificate to secure his position.
Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court magistrate Celesa Okore on Thursday convicted Noah Oketch Oluoch on two of the three charges he faced — fraudulent acquisition of public funds and uttering a false document — ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court heard that Oluoch pocketed over Sh1.4 million in salary and allowances between April and August 2022 after submitting a counterfeit Master of Business Administration degree certificate purportedly issued by the University of Nairobi.
Okore said evidence showed Oluoch knowingly presented the fake certificate to then REREC chief executive Peter Mbugua, adding:
“The court finds that indeed the prosecution has proved the charge of uttering a false document. The accused was not truthful in his statements.”
Sentence
The magistrate handed him three penalties to run consecutively: a Sh100,000 fine or one year in prison for using a forged document, Sh2.91 million or two years in jail for unlawfully acquiring public funds, and another Sh100,000 fine or 12 months in prison for presenting a false document.
This means Oluoch must pay the full Sh3.11 million fine or serve the combined four-year sentence.
Plea for Leniency Rejected
His lawyer’s plea for a lighter sentence — citing Oluoch’s status as a first-time offender, his age (55), and hypertension — was dismissed.
“No medical evidence has been put before me and therefore the court shall take that with a pinch of salt,” Okore ruled.
How He Got the Job
Mbugua testified that Oluoch had emerged top in interviews, scoring 78 per cent ahead of two other candidates, before taking up the role.
He resigned five months later, shortly after the forgery was uncovered and before a disciplinary hearing could be held.
University of Nairobi deputy registrar Peter Mbuthia confirmed that the institution had never issued the degree certificate Oluoch submitted, sealing the prosecution’s case.
