A political favour meant to reward a loyal campaigner took an unexpected turn after nominated Senator Karen Nyamu revealed that she helped the supporter forge a Form Four certificate to join the National Police Service, only for the recruit to be caught during training at Kiganjo Police Training College.
Speaking on Radio Generation on Friday, October 23, 2026, Nyamu said her decision was driven by a desire to help people who had supported her political ambitions but lacked the academic qualifications required for advertised jobs.
The senator traced the experience to 2017, when she failed to win an elective seat before securing an appointment as a director at Nairobi Water. She said she later sought to help members of her campaign team find employment, only to discover that some could not apply because they had not completed secondary school.
Nyamu explained that most of her supporters came from informal settlements and had limited access to opportunities requiring Form Four qualifications.
“My team, the people who had been campaigning for me, are mostly from the slums, so I wanted to reward them because there was an advertisement for jobs. So I forwarded to them, apply for this, then they couldn’t because they did not have Form Four certificates,” she said.
“That was the first time I encountered such a situation; these young people don’t have Form Four qualifications.”
The UDA Senator said the challenge later arose when she tried to help one of her staunch supporters secure a place in the police service. The individual, whom she estimated to be in their late twenties, did not have the required secondary school certificate.
Nyamu went further and admitted that they resorted to forging the document in an attempt to meet the recruitment requirements.
“I can even tell you of a recent case where I tried to help someone get into the police force, a very staunch campaigner of mine; they are even known. They were, I think, 28, 29 years na hawana Form Four cert. Tukakarabati (we forged) a Form Four certificate, because I had this chance and I really had to give back,” she said.
According to Nyamu, the supporter successfully proceeded to Kiganjo Police Training College and began training before investigations into academic documents exposed the forgery.
She said she had not anticipated that the recruits' academic papers would be investigated, adding that the supporter later called her from a police station.
“Do you know walienda Kiganjo for training, kidogo kidogo, kumbe investigations are usually done, we didn’t know, do you know alinipigia simu akiwa police station,” she recounted.
Nyamu said the discovery affected other recruits who had also presented fake academic documents during the recruitment process.
“And the way everyone was happy…but so and so walishikwa because of forgery. Wote ambao walikua na fake papers wakatolewa, they were about 18.”
She added that about 18 recruits were removed from the training programme after the forged documents were discovered.
The senator said the incident highlighted the difficulties young people face when they lack secondary school qualifications, particularly when seeking employment or opportunities to develop their skills.
She also pointed to the challenges affecting young mothers who wish to continue their education and improve their chances of securing better opportunities.
Nyamu urged young mothers to obtain their Form Four certificates before enrolling in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions.
The lawmaker is seeking the Nairobi Woman Representative seat and said her experience had exposed the barriers that can prevent people without secondary school qualifications from accessing jobs and further training.