Fake professor? Varsity don accused of holding fake papers
Maasai Mara University professor facing accusations of holding falsified academic documents.
What you need to know:
- Mr Rolex Kimani Wakiaga also claims the lecturer also has a fake birth certificate.
- He wants the don blocked from being interviewed for the position of deputy vice-chancellor.
A petitioner has petitioned the Public Service Commission (PSC) alleging that a professor at Maasai Mara University holds forged documents and is seeking to bar him from being appointed a deputy vice chancellor.
The petition by Rolex Kimani Wakiaga claims that Prof James Simiren Ole Nampushi of Maasai Mara University holds falsified academic documents.
Mr Wakiaga further alleges that the lecturer also has a fake birth certificate as well as a fake national identity card.
He is seeking orders to stop the PSC from interviewing Prof Ole Nampushi for the position of deputy vice chancellor (administration, finance and strategy) at the university. He has been acting in the position since 2019.
The Nation has however established that Prof Ole Nampushi was interviewed on June 11 2024 alongside other candidates.
The other candidates on the shortlist are Prof Oyaro Nathan Mayora, Prof Loice Chemngetich Maru, Prof Hellen Kiende Mberia, Prof Margaret Akoth Oloko, Prof James M.J Njiru and Prof Fredrick B. J Angaga Ngala.
The commission advertised the position in February this year and attracted 27 applications. Prof Ole Nampushi is among the seven shortlisted candidates.
Among the documents candidates are expected to present at the interview are those that Mr Wakiaga alleges are questionable.
The PSC invited members of public to provide any credible information regarding any of the shortlisted candidates.
Mr Wakiaga alleges that Prof Ole Nampushi gained admission to Moi University using forged documents. He went on to study for a degree in tourism and travel services management.
“The respondent holds questionable academic certificates which he purports to have obtained from the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) starting from Certificate of Primary Education, Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education, Advanced Certificate of Secondary School and Higher National Diploma in Personnel Management,” the affidavit reads.
Mr Wakiaga has asked the PSC to ask Knec for the true copies of Prof Nampushi’s certificates.
“This therefore renders the degree of the respondent obsolete, invalid and useless,” Mr Wakiaga states.
He goes on to argue that Prof Nampushi used the bachelor’s degree from Moi University to gain admission from Clemson University in the US where he undertook a master’s degree in parks, recreation and leisure studies.
He later obtained a doctorate degree in parks, recreation and tourism management from the same university.
“We petition the Commission for University Education to revoke the PhD and the appointment of the respondent as an associate professor of Maasai Mara University,” Mr Wakiaga states.
He further alleges that Prof Ole Nampushi is under investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission over forgery and falsification of documents.
He attached copies of two birth certificates that indicate varying dates of birth and claims that the actual date of the lecturer is December 20 1965 and not December 20 1975.
