Former Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) General Manager for Finance and ICT Noah Oluoch Oketch has been charged with using a forged degree certificate to secure employment at the agency.
Oluoch was charged at Milimani Anti-Corruption Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Confirming the arrest on Wednesday, Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi said that Oluoch was employed in April 2022 but quickly resigned after four months, in August 2022, when EACC commenced investigations.
At the time of resignation, EACC said in the charge sheet that he had fraudulently earned a total salary of Ksh1,455,066.05 from public coffers.
According to the charge sheet, the suspect forged a master’s degree certificate in Business Administration and purported it to be a legitimate document issued by the University of Nairobi.
“Between 1st April 2022 to 31st August 2022 within Nairobi County in the Republic of Kenya, being a public officer employed as General Manager, Finance and ICT at Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, you fraudulently acquired public property in terms of salary and allowances amounting to Ksh1,455,066.05 from Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation having been employed using a forged degree certificate,” the charge sheet read in part.
“On unknown date and place within the Republic of Kenya, with intent to deceive, you forged a Master of Business Administration Degree Certificate Number 0217 in the name of Noah Oluoch Oketch, purporting it to be a genuine document issued to you by the University of Nairobi, a fact you knew to be false.”
Oluoch is said to have used the forged degree certificate to meet job requirements to secure employment as General Manager for Finance and ICT at REREC.
“On the 23rd day of March, 2021 at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, within Nairobi County, with intent to deceive, knowingly and fraudulently uttered a forged Master of Business Administration Degree Certificate Number 0217 in the name of Noah Oluoch Oketch to CPA Peter Mbugua, the Chief Executive Officer at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, purporting it to be a genuine document issued to you by the University of Nairobi, a fact you knew to be false,” the charge sheet added
Appearing before Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Nzioki, the accused pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was released on a bond of Ksh1 million with a surety of a similar amount or a cash bail of Ksh500,000.
The court also ordered him to deposit his travel documents in court within seven days, and that during the trial period, he should not travel out of the country without leave of court.
The matter will be mentioned on April 17, 2024, for a pre-trial conference.
