The County Government of Nyamira has taken disciplinary measures against 324 employees who were discovered to possess either fraudulent academic certificates or had been unlawfully promoted. Speaking to reporters from his office on Friday, Governor Amos Nyaribo emphasized that the county incurred an annual loss of Sh4.5 million due to irregular promotions and the use of forged certificates.
Nyaribo disclosed that out of the county's total workforce of 4,100 employees, 245 had obtained promotions irregularly, while 79 had secured their positions using counterfeit certificates. He further stated that the government had submitted the initial batch of 2,800 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education certificates to the Kenya National Examinations Council for verification, revealing that 76 of them were identified as fake.
“The 2,800 post-secondary education certificates were also under scrutiny by various colleges across the country. So far, three cases of forged diploma and degree certificates had been reported”, he said.
“Among the discrepancies that were noted by the KNEC included alteration of mean grades, changing of subject scores and inconsistent examination centre codes. In some cases, the index numbers in the certificates did not belong to the officers while others replaced names on certificates with theirs,” Nyaribo told journalists.
Nyaribo expressed surprise at the Department of Health, which had the highest number of employees found with fake academic credentials, totaling 24 cases.
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Following closely behind, both the Departments of Finance and Public Service Management each reported 13 cases of employees with questionable qualifications.
Nyaribo confirmed that the county had officially informed the affected employees and was taking steps to halt their salaries.
Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings had commenced against the employees who had been irregularly promoted.
“ Immediate stoppage of salaries for the 79 individuals, with letters of notification have already been dispatched to them, disciplinary and administrative action against the staff has been initiated” he added ..
Nyaribo announced that the report would be forwarded to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for further investigation.
Additionally, the county plans to submit the second batch of academic certificates to the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and middle-level colleges next week for verification.
Furthermore, administrative measures regarding irregular promotions will be implemented this month against 245 staff members once the County Public Service Board completes compiling the report.
