Gatundu South CDF boss in trouble over 'fake’ KCSE certificate

The letter from Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) that indicated the form four certificate that Robert Githongo currently has is forged.

Gatundu South Constituency Development Fund (CDF) chairman Robert Githongo's political ambitions are hanging in the balance following reports that his secondary school certificate is fake.

Mr Githongo will not therefore vie for the Kiamwangi ward seat after the Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) declared his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) document was not genuine.

The CDF boss, who is also a pastor, is being investigated for allegedly using the forged certificate to enrol for a diploma course at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).

The revelation is an indictment against the cleric's integrity as he has been managing public funds in President Uhuru Kenyatta's rural constituency.

Githongo, a pastor with African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA), has been the CDF chairman since 2013 and intends to vie for the Kiamwangi seat on a Jubilee ticket.

He was expected to participate in the party primaries next month.

In a letter The Standard is in possession of, Knec said it had established that a copy of the certificate submitted for verification was obtained from a forged document.

The certificate indicated Githongo sat for his KCSE exams at Murera Secondary School in 1997 under index number 11235102/008, and scored a mean grade of C+. However, Knec has refuted the claims in a letter, saying a centre by the name Murera Secondary School under code 11235102 did not exist during the 1997 examinations.

"Kibe Robert Githongo did not register or sit for the year 1997 KCSE examinations at Murera Secondary School under index number 11235102008. Therefore, the purported copy of certificate presented for verification is obtained from a forged document," read part of the letter from Knec.

It has emerged that the CDF boss also used the forged Form Four certificate to enrol for a diploma course at JKUAT. A certificate from the university issued to Githongo on November 25, 2016, shows he was awarded a diploma in county governance, with a credit score for having satisfied all the requirements.

He was a student at the university's Westlands campus in Nairobi.

JKUAT Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Romanus Odhiambo said the certificate that Knec declared a forgery was similar to the one the aspirant used to enrol at the university for the diploma course.

He said the university was conducting its own investigations to ascertain the truth before taking the next course of action.

"We have written to Knec to ascertain if it is indeed true that the certificate he used to enrol is a forged document and we will also go to Murera Secondary to find out if he was a student there. If it is confirmed the certificate was forged, the university senate will have to nullify the diploma certificate awarded to him," said Prof Odhiambo.

But Githongo maintained his Form Four certificate was genuine and promised to show it to journalists next Tuesday.

He said the original certificate was with his lawyer, who was preparing documents to be submitted to the Jubilee Party. He attributed his woes to political opponents he claimed were afraid he would clinch the seat.