Economy
Court orders Kisii staff with forged papers to refund Sh3.1m salary
Thursday February 16 2023
The High Court has ordered a former Kisii county ward administrator to refund Sh3.1 million he earned as a salary after using forged academic certificates to secure the job in 2014.
Justice Esther Maina ruled that Mr Evans Nyaoga Rambeka should refund the money plus interest because it was proved that he used forged certificates to get the job.
The judge said Mr Nyaoga was also found guilty of forging and presenting the forged papers to the county government and has never appealed against the conviction.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) went to court seeking a refund of the money, which was paid to him irregularly for 38 months.
“The court is convinced that the respondent applied for the job, presented forged certificates and drew a salary well aware that he didn’t qualify for the job,” the judge said.
Mr Nyaoga’s lawyer Danstan Omari had defended him saying he never applied for the job but was given the appointment letter by former Governor Evans Ongwae in 2014.
He said Nyaoga was not to blame for being employed without academic qualifications, he doesn’t know how the certificates got into his file.
Mr Omari told the judge that Mr Nyaoga did not have the required academic papers when he sought the job but he was considered for the job anyway.
The former administrator was found guilty by a Kisii court of forging a Diploma in human resources from the Kenya Institute of Management.
The EACC said Mr Nyaoga earned a total of Sh3,162,452 from the county as salary for the 38 months he worked as a ward administrator.
The anti-graft body said Mt Nyaoga illegally benefited from the salaries and allowances and should be compelled to refund the money.
His lawyer asked the court to temporarily suspend the decision to enable him to file an appeal. He said EACC might seek to recover the money by seizing his money before he files the appeal.
