EX-KenGen employee jailed 11 years for using forged KCSE, disability certificates

NAIROBI, Kenya Sep 15 – The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has secured the conviction of a former Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) employee who used forged academic and disability certificates to secure employment and obtain more than Sh14.9 million in salaries and benefits.

David Nyabuti was convicted by the Anti-Corruption Court after the prosecution, led by Naomi Isoe, proved that he fraudulently acquired public property and uttered false documents.

Senior Principal Magistrate C. Okore ordered Nyabuti to pay Sh14,946,118 as compensation for the public property he fraudulently acquired.

He was also fined Sh900,000 for the same offence, with a default sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

Nyabuti was further convicted on two counts of uttering false documents under Section 353 of the Penal Code and fined Sh200,000 on each count, with a default sentence of two years’ imprisonment for each count.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The court heard that Nyabuti worked at KenGen as a Craft Grade III employee from August 2003 until September 2018, when he resigned.

The prosecution established that he used a forged KCSE certificate to secure his employment at the power generating company.

Nyabuti had sat for the KCSE examination in 1994 at St Paul’s Igonga Secondary School and obtained a mean grade of D- from eight subjects.

However, the certificate he presented to KenGen indicated that he had obtained a mean grade of C-.

The forged certificate enabled him to secure employment and subsequently receive salaries and benefits amounting to Sh14,946,118.82, according to evidence presented before the court.

The court also found that Nyabuti fraudulently obtained a disability certificate from the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.

The certificate enabled him to benefit from tax exemptions between July 2014 and September 2018.

His employment at KenGen ended after he was asked to produce his original academic certificates.

The DPP said the conviction demonstrates the consequences of using fraudulent documents to obtain public employment and benefits.

The court ordered Nyabuti to meet the financial penalties imposed, with the prescribed prison terms applying in default of payment.