Nearly 2,000 government employees have been found to possess fake academic certificates, raising serious concerns about integrity in public service, the Director of Ethics and Leadership at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has revealed.
FCPA John Lolkoloi said on Tuesday that the authentication exercise, ordered by the Public Service Commission, also established that those with forged academic and professional certificates serve in critical positions such as accountants, lawyers, human resources professionals, and doctors.
“You can imagine the repercussions and the danger such individuals pose to society in terms of designing and constructing roads, bridges, buildings, and medical prescriptions as they purport to be what they are not,” Mr Lolkoloi said.
He was speaking at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK)’s Annual Governance and Ethics Conference 2024 in Mombasa, where he gave keynote remarks on the role of the EACC in mitigating fraud and enhancing ethical conduct.
EACC and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, he said, have investigated the scandal, and several people have already been arraigned in court. Others have been suspended, and many more have resigned as criminal prosecutions continue.
Besides, EACC has filed recovery suits for all amounts earned by individuals who used forged certificates to secure employment or promotion.
There is already an established court precedent, he said, that the entire amounts earned through the use of forged academic certificates are recoverable from the time of employment to exit, and it does not matter that services were rendered since the employment or promotion was based on illegality.
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The EACC Director for Ethics and Leadership advised that the issuing institutions authenticate candidates’ certificates before they are hired or promoted to help entrench ethics and integrity, attract a qualified and competent workforce, and protect society.
The Annual Governance and Ethics Conference 2024 is an initiative of the ICPAK. It attracts over 200 participants drawn from both the public and private sectors. This year’s theme is Integrity and Accountability in a Dynamic World.
Mr Lolkoloi called on the participants to institutionalize good governance and integrity for sustainable practices independent of political regimes and organizational leadership, credibility, dependability, foreseeability, effective service delivery, and enhanced national profile, among other benefits.
He called on fellow accountants to refrain from processing fraudulent or unlawful payments, not to be conduits for the proceeds of corruption, to report suspicious transactions, and to ensure that disciplinary action is taken against members who breach codes of ethics as their contribution to the fight against corruption.
EACC also addressed the Corruption Challenge in Kenya and Ethical Perspectives later in the day, drawing on lessons from the Commission on Ethics for Professionals and the fight against corruption.
EACC’s Chairperson, Dr David Oginde, will give keynote closing remarks on upholding integrity and accountability in a dynamic world when the conference concludes on Friday, October 11, 2024.
– By Ouma Ojango
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