Agency: A third of Kenyans hold fake academic papers

One in every three Kenyans holds fake academic documents, according to the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA).

Institution’s Director General Dr Juma Mukhwana warned it would henceforth weed out holders of fake academic certificates and prosecute them for the offence of uttering a false document.

Dr Mukhwana said yesterday that the authority is also working with learning institutions to ensure learners are admitted in programmes they qualify to study.

“We are working with universities, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and foreign institutions to ensure the country has genuine and quality qualifications,” said Mukhwana.

Electoral process

Mukhwana spoke during a meeting with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati, Commissioner Prof Abdi Guliye, acting Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein and acting Deputy Commission Secretary Obadia Keitany at the electoral agency’s offices at Anniversary Towers.

Authority was seeking partnership on how the two agencies can work to ensure only valid and genuine qualifications can be used in the electoral process in the country.

He was flanked by KNQA chairman Dr Kilemi Mwiria and Deputy Director in charge of ICT, Vincent Koech. 

“We are here to seek collaboration so that any candidate seeking elective positions has  their academic certificates vetted.

We have the required expertise to handle the vetting of the academic documents,” said Mwiria, during the meeting.

Mwiria disclosed the authority has developed a national database for all qualifications, which will be a one-stop shop in the country.

The database will contain information from all sectors on education and training system.

He further observed that the authority is determined to restore sanity and order in the education sector, by ensuring that all qualifications possessed by Kenyans are genuine.

Mwiria stated that elected leaders need to lead by example, by only presenting genuine certificates to the electoral body.

Chebukati on his part said the commission is ready to work with the authority to stamp out academic fraud among aspirants.

University degree

“We will be happy to work together to address the issue of fake academic qualifications by candidates seeking elective positions,” said Chebukati.

He said that close to 20,000 candidates are expected to contest various elective positions in the 2022 polls.

A law requiring candidates seeking to contest for parliamentary and Ward Rep seats to have a university degree qualification is expected to take effect during the 2022 General Election.