Audit reveals fake academic papers were used to get jobs in Parliament in a process that saw more than 300 officers hired.
An audit of papers submitted by individuals hired by Parliament last year has unearthed fake academic credentials.
Two individuals were reported to have submitted fake documents by the human resources department as of Thursday, according to sources, but other sources claim there may be as many as 50 individuals involved in the current verification process.
Over 300 officers were hired as part of the Parliamentary Service Commission’s (PSC) major hiring last year.
Among those hired and placed in various departments were committee clerks, media relations officers, legal officers, security officers, secretaries, accountants, and communication officers.
“There was a requirement in the letter of offer that they will only be confirmed upon performance appraisal and verification of academic documents. This is what we are doing now,” said the source.
Regarding reports that the scrutiny is causing panic in Parliament, the source said this was an annual exercise.
The verification of the academic documents is done by the human resource department, while the performance appraisal is done by their seniors. So, we are waiting for the results.”
The exercise is expected to be concluded next week. It is not clear what action the PSC will take against those found to have forged their credentials.
The Penal Code says: “Any person who forges any document or electronic record is guilty of an offence, which, unless otherwise stated, is a felony and he is liable unless owing to the circumstances of the forgery or the nature of the thing forged some other punishment is provided, to imprisonment for three years.”
In November, Dr. Juma Mukhwana, then the Kenya National Qualifications Authority director-general, told Parliament that about 30 percent of academic certificates in Kenya are either fake, falsified, or tampered with.