A former employee of the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) has been fined Ksh5 million or sentenced to eight years in prison by the Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi. The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, August 20, concludes a case that revealed a significant breach of public trust.
The ex-employee, who served as an Assistant Inspector II, was found guilty of fraudulently acquiring academic certificates to secure employment at KEPHIS. The court heard that the individual falsely claimed to have qualifications from Baraka Agricultural College and Kilifi Institute of Agriculture, which were later proven to be fabricated.
Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki imposed a fine of Ksh100,000 or 12 months in prison for the fraudulent acquisition of academic certificates. Additionally, a mandatory fine of Ksh4,746,834.38—the total amount the employee earned during his tenure at KEPHIS—was levied, with a default sentence of five years in prison.
The fraudulent activities took place between June 2013 and April 2021, during which the employee earned a monthly salary based on forged documents. The prosecution, led by Susan Keli, successfully demonstrated that the employee deceived KEPHIS into believing he was qualified, resulting in the illicit acquisition of public funds.
Beyond the major fraud conviction, the former KEPHIS employee was also convicted on two counts of providing false information to a public entity, each carrying a fine of Ksh200,000 or two years in prison. These charges stemmed from false declarations on his KEPHIS employment form, where he claimed to hold a Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development and a Certificate in Agriculture with Distinction—both of which were fictitious.
The investigation, initiated by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following a complaint from the KEPHIS Managing Director in June 2021, revealed that the employee had also forged a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and other academic documents. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) approved the charges, leading to the employee’s arrest and subsequent trial at the Anti-Corruption Court in Milimani.
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