The anti-corruption court in Kisumu has sentenced two government employees who work for the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (Rerec) to six years in prison for fabricating documents four years ago in order to obtain State positions.
The court heard that Pauline Anyango Otieno and Lilian Akoth Ochieng in 2018 forged education certificates from Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Kenya Institute of Management (KIMs) in order to obtain employment as officers in the procurement division at the State corporation.
Following a plea agreement between the prosecution and the defense, magistrate Teresa Odera issued a decision in which Ms Otieno was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and Ms Ochieng to three and a half years for the same offenses.
They were given the option of paying fines of Sh228,698 and Sh271,901, respectively, by the court.
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Additionally, the court ruled that they must return all wages they received while working with false documentation.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) submitted that Ms Otieno faked a Certificate in Procurement from MKU, while Ms Ochieng faked both a Diploma (Purchasing and Supplies) and Certificate (Purchasing and Supplies Management), both granted by KIMs.
They had been working as casual employees for the Corporation for eight years prior to receiving a formal job offer.
They had worked in their new roles for two months prior to the EACC findings.
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They were taken into custody on August 22 and April 26, 2021, respectively, and negotiations for a plea deal began in January 2022.
They were accused of forging, giving false information to a public entity, misleading a public entity, uttering a false document, and fraudulent acquisition of public property being the cumulative salary earned on forged certificates.
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