MTRH seeks to recover Sh160m paid to staff after audit on forged certificates

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital is seeking to recover more than Sh160 million from 26 former employees who were hired after presenting fake academic certificates.

The former employees, who held various mid-level positions, were dismissed following a human resource audit that uncovered the use of forged academic papers to secure employment, promotions and financial benefits.

The 26 are now facing criminal charges before Eldoret Chief Magistrate Peter Ndwiga and other courts in the region.

The hospital’s director of finance, Mathew Birgen, told the court that the institution is pursuing individual recoveries, including a case involving a former employee from whom more than Sh6 million is being sought.

The amount is said to have been paid as salary over a period of more than 10 years before it was established that forged documents were used to gain employment.

“We received instructions from the government to carry out an audit of academic papers held by our employees, and we immediately did so, leading to the discovery of forged certificates presented by some of them,” Birgen said.

He said some of the accused were initially hired on contract but were later absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms after presenting the fake qualifications.

“We carried out due diligence with relevant bodies, including the Kenya National Examinations Council, which confirmed that some of the academic papers presented were forged,” he said.

Birgen told the court the former employees unlawfully benefited from public funds and that the hospital had been directed to work with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to recover the money.

He said the audit covered a 10-year period up to October 2020 and that payslips and the disputed academic documents had been presented in court as evidence.

Some of the employees, he added, abandoned their posts when the audit began, with a number reportedly leaving the country.

The revelations came as the hospital faces mounting pressure on service delivery due to a shortage of more than 1,000 nurses.

Hospital chief executive officer Dr Phillip Kirwa said the facility has lost a significant number of nurses in recent years, many of whom have moved abroad in search of better opportunities.

“Others have left through natural attrition, but we have not been able to replace them,” he said.

Kirwa said the hospital is conducting a staff assessment to determine its current needs and plans to recruit critical personnel to stabilise operations.

He also noted that the hospital’s wage bill consumes more than 70 per cent of its budget, even as it grapples with a shortfall in government capitation.

Kirwa said additional funding is expected through a supplementary budget to help ease the strain.