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Zinje Juma Mwadama was on Tuesday found guilty of fraudulently acquiring academic certificates to secure employment at KEPHIS and providing false information to a public entity.
KEPHIS is the government parastatal whose responsibility is to assure the quality of agricultural inputs and produce to prevent adverse impact on the economy, the environment and human health.
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The Anti-Corruption Court in Nairobi ordered Mwadama to pay a hefty fine of Sh5 million or serve a custodial sentence of eight years.
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The court also imposed an additional fine of Sh100,000 for fraudulent acquisition of public property and a further Sh200,000 for providing false information.
The former KEPHIS official was convicted of illegally obtaining Sh4,746,834.38 representing his entire salary during his employment.
The court ordered this amount to be recovered as a mandatory fine, with a default sentence of five years imprisonment.
The prosecution successfully proved that Mwadama falsified his academic qualifications to secure employment at KEPHIS between June 26, 2013, and April 24, 2021.
The court found him guilty of providing false information on his employment application, claiming to possess qualifications he did not hold.
He claimed to have Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development from Baraka Agricultural College, a Certificate in Agriculture with Distinction from Kilifi Institute of Agriculture, and a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education with a Mean Grade C.
Chief Magistrate Thomas Nzyoki ruled that all sentences will run consecutively, meaning Mwadama will serve the full term if he fails to pay the fines.
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The government has been targeting civil servants suspected of holding fake academic certificates.
This crackdown follows alarming findings from the Public Service Commission (PSC), which revealed that over 2,000 government employees secured their positions using forged credentials.
According to EACC Chairperson Bishop David Oginde, those found guilty will be required to refund salaries received while holding these positions, with investigations already underway to recover funds misappropriated through fraudulent means.
In response to the growing issue of fake academic certificates, the Kenyan government is working on the Kenya National Qualifications Framework (Amendment) Bill 2024.
This legislation aims to create a central repository for all national and foreign qualifications, which will help regulate and authenticate academic credentials.