A former human resource (HR) officer at the County Assembly of Kiambu has been fined Ksh1.06 million after admitting to using a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate to secure public employment.
Milimani Anti-Corruption Court Magistrate Isabellah Barasa convicted Margaret Mbugua on three counts on Thursday, October 22, 2026, following her guilty plea under a plea agreement with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The court imposed a fine of Ksh20,000 on each of the three counts, totalling Ksh60,000. It also ordered Mbugua to pay the government Ksh1 million in compensation for fraudulently acquiring public property.
Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) established that Mbugua presented a forged KCSE certificate purporting to show that she sat her examinations at Gachoire Secondary School in 1996.
The commission found that she used the document to obtain employment at the County Assembly of Kiambu, where she worked as a principal human resource officer.
During her tenure, Mbugua received Ksh4,921,953.80 in salary between November 2020 and August 2025.
Court documents indicated that the forged academic certificate was presented on December 16, 2011, at St Paul's University in Kiambu County, allegedly to facilitate her employment.
The prosecution had prepared a case supported by documentary evidence and seven witnesses, including experts, before Mbugua entered into the plea agreement.
She pleaded guilty to fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document and presenting a forged certificate, offences arising from her use of the academic document.
Although forgery was listed as a separate charge, Mbugua did not plead guilty to that count under the agreement.
Under the court's orders, she faces six months' imprisonment for each of the three counts if she fails to pay the respective fines.
The EACC welcomed the conviction, stating that the outcome should serve as a warning to individuals who use fraudulent academic qualifications to secure public jobs and access government funds.
The case comes amid broader efforts by authorities to tackle fraud within public institutions, particularly through the verification of academic credentials and scrutiny of public sector recruitment records.
Government agencies have also been investigating suspected payroll irregularities across ministries, departments, agencies and state corporations.
A forensic audit presented to the government identified suspected irregularities amounting to Ksh6.2 billion in 12 of the 53 state departments examined, highlighting the scale of potential financial misconduct under investigation.
