Former Chief Justice David Maraga has called on the government to form a commission of inquiry to investigate the rampant vice of fake academic certificates in the country.
Speaking during a capacity-building workshop for journalists organised by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), Maraga said that education certificates from Kenyan institutions should never be questioned.
"Kenya is currently witnessing rampant cases of forgery of academic certificates. In some cases, there are universities that are accused of fraudulently selling transcripts and degree certificates to individuals who never set foot in any classroom. Given the danger that these malpractices pose to Kenya's education system, there is a need for the government to establish a mechanism including even a commission of inquiry to inquire into the root cause of this menace and how it should be effectively addressed," Maraga said.
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Maraga says some of the academic certificates fraudulently acquired have been used to secure jobs in public offices.
"Kenya should be leading in education on the continent. Certificates from our universities should never be questioned at all given the level of literacy that we have. We must embrace the culture of doing the right thing and embracing the rule of law. Only then can we demand accountability and other ethical standards from the public officials," Maraga said.
Maraga also called on Kenyans to stop glorifying corrupt leaders who pursue shortcuts to become rich at the expense of integrity.
Fake academic certificates in government
This comes days after President William Ruto said there are over 2,100 people with fake academic certificates working for the government.
Speaking during the Wage Bill Conference, Ruto ordered those with fake certificates to start leaving the government, and look for money to repay the government for "obtaining money through false pretence".
"We will now confront the monster of corruption head-on going forward, whether it is in counties, whether it is in the national government. Just imagine, a simple audit of people working for the government has revealed that we have 2,100 people with fake (academic) certificates working for the government," Ruto stated.
"I hope we are going to add one more resolution on fake certificates; those who have earned money using fake certificates should refund us our public money. Isn't it equivalent to obtaining (money) by false pretence? Those who are in government offices today with fake certificates should resign and look for money to pay for the public resources that they have earned falsely."
