Ex-REREC manager fined Sh3 million, faces four years in jail for using fake degree

A former top manager at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation has been ordered to pay fines totalling over Sh3 million or face a four-year prison term after being convicted of using a counterfeit academic certificate to secure his position.

Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court magistrate Celesa Okore found Noah Oketch Oluoch guilty of two of the three charges brought against him, ruling that the prosecution had proven fraudulent acquisition of public funds and presenting a false document beyond a reasonable doubt.

Court records show Oluoch obtained more than Sh1.4 million in salary and allowances between April and August 2022 after submitting a forged Master of Business Administration degree certificate allegedly issued by the University of Nairobi.

In her ruling on Thursday, Okore said the evidence demonstrated that Oluoch knowingly submitted the fake certificate to then REREC chief executive Peter Mbugua.

“The court finds that indeed the prosecution has proved the charge of uttering a false document. The accused was not truthful in his statements,” she stated.

He was fined Sh100,000 or one year in prison for using a forged document, plus Sh2.91 million or two years in jail for unlawfully acquiring public funds.

For presenting a false document, he received an additional Sh100,000 fine or 12 months in prison. The magistrate directed that all sentences be served consecutively, meaning Oluoch must pay the full fines or serve the combined four-year term.

The court dismissed Oluoch’s plea for leniency after his lawyer argued that he was a first-time offender, 55 years old, and suffered from hypertension.

“No medical evidence has been put before me and therefore the court shall take that with a pinch of salt,” Okore said.

Peter Mbugua told the court that Oluoch had scored 78 per cent in interviews, emerging as the top candidate ahead of two other applicants who scored 73 and 72 per cent.

He started work but resigned after five months following the discovery that his degree certificate was not genuine and before a disciplinary committee could assess his case.

Deputy registrar Peter Mbuthia confirmed that the University of Nairobi had not issued the degree certificate Oluoch submitted, reinforcing the prosecution’s case.

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