The Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Anthony Muchiri has issued a directive to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to hunt down government officials with fake degrees.
Speaking to the press of Tuesday, February 13, Muchiri revealed that PSC had conducted investigations and revealed that the Ministry of Interior and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) had the highest number of employees with fake certifications.
Some of the culprits, he noted forged their bachelor’s certificates and altered their ranking to indicate that they obtained first class honors.
“I hand over our report to the EACC and the DCI for the next phase of legal processes. Going forward, the commission will work closely with institutions of learning, the commission of university education and relevant examination professional bodies, to encourage them to digitize their respective database for efficient interventions,” he noted.
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PSC Reveals How Govt Employees Evade Arrest
According to Muchiri, those employees have been able to evade arrests by resigning or applying for early retirement before disciplinary action is taken.
Also, he indicated that the government also experienced difficulty in reaching out to foreign institutions outside the country in addition to high cost of verification.
“Record relating to academic and professional qualifications are not digitized, delayed feedback on request, high cost of verification, difficulty in reaching out to foreign institutions outside the country and cases of implicated officers resigning or applying for early retirement before disciplinary action,” he said.
Call to Other Commissions to Intensify the Crackdown
According to the PSC boss, the falsification of academic documents affected government’s plan of exporting labor and making deals with other nations.
“Falsification of academic certification has far reaching implication on service delivery by public institutions. At a time when the government is reaching out to various countries with a view to exporting labor,
“An officer who has secured an appointment or promotion on the basis of fake academic qualification has no integrity and must therefore not be entrusted with any public office or resources,” added Muchiri.
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At the same time, he called on other commissions including the, the National Police Service Commission, the Teachers Service Commission to conduct similar investigations into such cases.
“PSC calls on the Judicial Service Commission, the National Police Service Commission, the Teachers Service Commission and the Parliamentary Service Commission to undertake the exercise PSC has undertaken, Moreso the devolved governments,” said Muchiri.