Four state hospital staff charged with earning Sh22m using forged documents
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
What you need to know:
- Four employees of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Uasin Gishu County have already been charged with fraudulently earning salaries amounting to Sh22 million between July 2016 and August 2023.
- An investigation launched in October 2022 to weed out civil servants with forged documents established that more than 2,000 employees used forged documents to secure employment in public entities.
More than 30 employees of Kenya's second-largest referral hospital are under investigation for using forged academic certificates to secure employment at the facility.
Following ongoing investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), four of the employees of the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Uasin Gishu County have already been charged with fraudulently earning salaries amounting to Sh22 million between July 2016 and August 2023 after using fake certificates to secure employment at the medical facility.
Each of the accused was charged with more than four counts of forgery contrary to Section 345 of the Penal Code.
They were charged with faking the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), and the Kenya Medical Training Institute (KMTC) certificates, among other documents.
The employees who were charged are; Eddah Boit, Jackson Maiyo, Bethwel Kipkoech, and Celestine Cherop.
Ms Boit was charged with forging a KCSE certificate from Itigo Girls High School, claiming she sat the national examinations at the school in 1992, took a course and earned a diploma at the Kenya Institute of Professional Counsellors, and allegedly graduated on April 5, 2019.
The court heard that she presented the certificates to the human resource development officers at MTRH where she secured employment as a counsellor and a public health officer, claiming they were genuinely issued by Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC).
Since Ms Boit’s employment at the hospital from 2016 to 2023, the court heard that she fraudulently acquired public funds contrary to Section 45 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act Number 3 of 2003.
The prosecution told the court that through the same certificate, she fraudulently earned more than Sh6.7m in public funds.
Her co-accused, Mr Maiyo faced similar charges of forging a KCSE certificate from Biwott High School dated 1993, claiming it was genuinely issued by KNEC. Mr Maiyo allegedly used the certificate to secure employment at the MTRH as a security officer.
During the duration he worked at the hospital between 2016 and 2023, he earned more than Sh4.5 million.
Another employee, Mr Kipkoech, was also charged with forging a diploma certificate in community health nursing — serial number 98805 alleging that he graduated from KMTC on December 7, 2017. He used the document to secure employment at MTRH as a Community Health Officer in the Department of Public Health.
During the period of his employment between July 2020 and September 2023, he fraudulently earned a salary of over Sh3.8 million contrary to the Economic Crimes Act 2023, the court heard.
Ms Cherop allegedly used forged documents to secure employment as a nurse at the hospital and was charged with fraudulently earning more than Sh7.1 million between 2016 and 2023.
All the suspects denied the charges before Eldoret Principal Magistrate Patrick Areri. They were each released on a Sh300,000 bond, with similar surety or an alternative cash bail of Sh100,000 each.
They all posted bail and were released pending hearing and determination of their cases. The matter will be mentioned before the Chief Magistrates Court on March 18 for pre-trial directions.
While addressing the media on February 13, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Anthony Muchiri said that an investigation launched in October 2022 to weed out civil servants with forged documents established that more than 2,000 employees used forged documents to secure employment in public entities.
The PSC report showed that the referral hospital topped the list of public entities where employees used forged documents to secure employment. 58 members of staff who were found to have faked their academic papers opted to resign last year.
The report further revealed that a large number of civil servants secured jobs and promotions using forged academic and professional certificates.
Other public entities with challenges of fake documents include KMTC, Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (Kemsa), the Geothermal Development Company, National Construction Authority, and Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service.
Each of the affected institutions has already started sacking employees with forged documents.
A report presented to Parliament on January 29 by the PSC Chief Executive Officer, Simon Rotich, confirmed that 58 officers have resigned, six took early retirement, 181 were dismissed from service, 252 had ongoing disciplinary cases and one was deceased.
The report also established that most of the forged certificates were from State Corporations and semi-autonomous government agencies at 76.3 percent, as well as ministries and State departments at 17.9 percent.
