Ex-Rerec boss jailed four years for forged masters degree certificate

A former manager of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation has been ordered to pay a fine of Sh3.1 million or be jailed for four years after being found guilty of using a forged certificate to land his plum job.

 Nairobi Anti-Corruption Court magistrate Celesa Okore found Noah Oluoch guilty of two of the three counts of fraud and forgery he was charged with.

 Oluoch was in April last year charged with three counts of fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery and uttering a false a document.

 The charge sheet showed he fraudulently acquired salary and allowances amounting to more than Sh1.4 million after he was employed using a forged degree certificate.

 The state had called 10 witnesses including former Rerec CEO Peter Mbugua to testify against Oluoch.

 In her judgment delivered on Thursday, Okore said the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the counts of fraudulent acquisition of public funds and that of uttering a false document.

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

 The magistrate, however, said the charge of forgery was not proved given the state failed to show it was the accused who forged the document or participated in the forgery.

 She said the state did not involve a document examiner to confirm if the accused forged the document as was alleged.

 Having been convicted, Oluoch was ordered to pay a fine of Sh100,000 for use of a forged document or spend a year in jail.

 The court also fined him Sh2.9 million for the offence of fraudulent acquisition of public funds or he serves two years in prison.

 For the offence of uttering a false document, he was fined Sh100,000 or he serves another 12 months in jail.

 The magistrate said all the sentences run consecutively, meaning Oluoch will serve a total of four years in jail if he fails to pay the fines.

 The court declined a plea from the convict for lenient sentencing after his lawyer said he was a first-time offender and had diligently cooperated during the trial.

 Oluoch said he is 55 years old with an underlying medical condition – hypertension – and as such, ought to be considered for leniency.

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

 In his testimony, former Rerec CEO Mbugua said Oluoch had emerged as the best candidate during the interviews with a score of 78 per cent. The second candidate scored 73 per cent with the third scoring 72 per cent.

 He was then appointed, having been the best candidate but worked only for five months following the discovery that the masters degree certificate he had used to apply for the job was not genuine.

 When summoned by disciplinary committee to explain the veracity of his certificate, Oluoch opted to resign.

 “He was still under probation in his new role but he opted not to face the disciplinary committee,” Mbugua said.

 Oluoch was accused of forging a masters degree certificate in business administration and management allegedly issued by the University of Nairobi.

 Peter Maina Mbuthia, the deputy registrar in charge of examinations at the University of Nairobi testified and told the court that Oluoch’s certificate was not issued by the institution.

Oluoch alleged that the forged degree certificate was awarded in 2018.

Mbuthia produced the graduation booklet for the December 4, 2018 in which Oluoch’s name was missing.