Parliament Employee Appeals Suspension Over Alleged Fake Academic Certificate

A staff member attached to the Parliamentary Service Commission has appealed for leniency after being suspended without pay over allegations of submitting a fake academic certificate.

Loice Nyambura Wamburu, a Personal Secretary at Parliament, maintains that she is innocent and insists the disputed certificate was never used to secure her employment.

In letters addressed to the Clerk of the Senate and Secretary to the Parliamentary Service Commission, Wamburu pleaded with the Commission to reconsider its decision, saying the suspension had plunged her and her children into financial hardship.

“I am a single parent currently taking care of four dependents who are all below the age of 18 years, two of whom are autistic,” she stated in one of the appeals.

She warned that failure to review the suspension would have devastating consequences for her family.

“If my appeal is not considered, it will cost me irreparable loss, lots of pain and suffering, and children will drop out of school because I am the only breadwinner,” she wrote.

Certificate Flagged During Verification Exercise

According to a letter dated December 4, 2024, the Parliamentary Service Commission informed Wamburu that a Business Education Examination certificate allegedly obtained from Gakeo College of Business Studies in 2022 had been flagged as fake during a nationwide verification exercise of academic credentials for parliamentary staff.

The Commission stated that information obtained from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) indicated that Wamburu “did not register nor sit” for the November 2022 examination under the index number appearing on the certificate.

PSC further stated that the certificate submitted was “a forgery and hence not an authentic document issued by KNEC.”

The Commission warned that forgery is a criminal offence that could result in prosecution and dismissal from employment.

Suspended Without Salary

In a suspension letter dated January 8, 2025, the Commission directed Wamburu to vacate office immediately and remain away pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings.

The suspension also came with an immediate stoppage of salary, a move Wamburu says severely affected her ability to support her family.

“My salary had been stopped immediately, thereby occasioning me great financial distress,” she stated.

She further disclosed that the loss of income had disrupted mortgage repayments, Sacco loan payments, and medical support for her autistic children.

Denies Using Disputed Certificate

Despite the allegations, Wamburu insists the claims against her are misleading and unfair.

She argues that she was lawfully employed by the Parliamentary Service Commission in June 2016 following competitive interviews and based on other qualifications, including a Bachelor of Commerce degree, a Diploma in Business Management, and a Diploma in Secretarial Studies.

“This allegation is clearly untrue,” she wrote.

“While the letter dated 4th December 2024 indicated that the questionable certificate is said to have been obtained in 2022, I was employed by the Commission in 2016.”

She further argued that even her promotion in 2023 was not dependent on the disputed certificate, noting that she had already served the institution for nearly seven years and possessed other academic qualifications.

“I Never Submitted the Certificate”

In another appeal dated January 31, 2025, Wamburu claimed she had never seen or submitted the alleged forged certificate to the Commission.

She also clarified that an earlier plea for leniency should not have been interpreted as an admission of guilt.

“I had been accused of forgery and threatened with termination of employment on account of a document that I had never seen nor ever supplied to the Commission,” she stated.

Wamburu is now asking the Parliamentary Service Commission to lift her suspension and allow her to continue working as investigations into the matter proceed.