A Kenya Railways employee has been arrested over an allegedly forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate that investigators say was used in connection with his employment at the corporation.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said on Friday, August 14, that the arrest followed a two-year investigation into the disputed academic document.
After reviewing the evidence, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) directed that the suspect be charged with Uttering a False Document and Fraudulent Acquisition of Public Property.
The charges are under Section 353 of the Penal Code and Section 45(1)(a) of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA), respectively.
The 54-year-old man was being processed ahead of his arraignment at the Milimani Law Courts.
Kenya Railways Certificate Verification Exposes Alleged Forgery
The case began after Kenya Railways launched an exercise to authenticate academic and professional certificates submitted by its employees.
During the verification process, the suspect's KCSE certificate, purportedly issued by the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), was flagged for further scrutiny.
KNEC subsequently established that the certificate number, which was purportedly issued in 1993, had been forged.
Investigators further allege that the certificate had been altered to reflect higher academic grades than those originally awarded.
According to the DCI, grades in three subjects were allegedly changed from D (Plain) to C (Plain).
The mean grade was also allegedly altered from D+ (Plus) to C (Plain).
The alleged changes therefore presented the suspect as having achieved better academic results than those originally awarded.
Two-Year Investigation Ends in Arrest
The findings triggered further investigations into how the disputed certificate was obtained and how it was allegedly used in connection with the suspect's employment at Kenya Railways.
The suspect reportedly remained at large during the investigation.
Detectives eventually traced him to Changamwe in Mombasa County, where he was arrested.
He is now expected to face the charges before the Milimani Law Courts.
The allegations have not been tested in court, and the suspect remains presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Another Forged-Certificate Case Raises Concern
The Kenya Railways case comes just a week after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) arrested a former Deputy Director at the Office of the Auditor General over allegations that the official used a forged academic certificate to secure employment.
The latest arrest once again puts the spotlight on the verification of academic credentials used to obtain or retain positions in public institutions.
For Kenya Railways, the investigation began with an internal effort to authenticate employee certificates.
For the suspect, however, that verification exercise has now resulted in criminal charges over an academic document investigators allege was deliberately altered to show higher grades.