A Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company employee has been convicted of using a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate to secure employment and ordered to pay more than Sh7.5 million in compensation and fines.
Kelly Gichuri Muiruri, who worked as a driver at the company, was convicted by the Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on four charges following investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
In a judgment delivered on Thursday, October 29, 2026, the court found that Muiruri presented an academic certificate showing that he had attained a mean grade of C plain in the 2002 KCSE examination, despite having scored a D plain.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Celesa Okore, convicted him of fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document, deceiving a principal and presenting a forged certificate. However, he was acquitted of the separate charge of forgery.
According to the EACC, the court ordered Muiruri to pay Sh6,742,673 in compensation for salaries he received from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company between November 2016 and December 2023.
The court further directed that he serve four years in prison if he fails to pay the compensation.
In addition to the compensation order, Muiruri was fined a total of Sh800,000 across the four counts.
The penalties include Sh300,000 for fraudulent acquisition of public property, with 12 months' imprisonment in default; Sh200,000 for uttering a false document, with eight months in default; and another Sh200,000 for deceiving a principal, also attracting eight months' imprisonment if unpaid.
He was further fined Sh100,000 for presenting a forged certificate, with an additional eight months' imprisonment in default.
The court directed that the default prison terms attached to the four fines run consecutively.
The compensation and fines bring the total financial penalty imposed on Muiruri to Sh7,542,673.
The case followed investigations by the EACC after the commission received a report alleging that Muiruri had used a falsified academic certificate to obtain employment at the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.
After completing its investigations, the commission forwarded the case file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), recommending that Muiruri be prosecuted.
The conviction highlights the legal consequences of using falsified academic documents to obtain employment in public institutions and the financial liability that can arise from salaries earned through fraudulent means.
The EACC said the compensation order was intended to recover public funds paid to Muiruri during the period he worked for the water company.
The commission also urged employers to strengthen their recruitment procedures by verifying academic and professional qualifications before offering candidates employment.
It maintained that proper verification was necessary to protect public resources and uphold integrity in public service.
The case adds to enforcement efforts targeting fraudulent acquisition of public employment and the misuse of academic credentials in institutions that rely on public resources.
The court's decision requires Muiruri to meet the compensation and fine obligations or face the respective prison terms imposed for default.