28 MTRH employees used fake academic certificates, court told

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. [File, Standard]

Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) Director of Human Resource Management, Anne Chemworsoio, informed an Eldoret Court that staff members used 28 forged academic and professional certificates to gain employment.

Testifying before Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Areri, Chemworsoio stated that cases of counterfeit certificates were widespread at the facility.

She revealed that some employees had also used fake credentials to obtain promotions over several years.

In a notable disclosure, Chemworsoio told the court that one staff member earned over Sh3.7 million in salary using forged academic papers.

Enock Kipruto Rotich, charged with submitting fake academic documents to secure employment at the country’s second-largest referral hospital, is currently out on bail.

Court documents indicated that Rotich was first employed as a casual security guard in October 2014 after presenting a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) with a Grade D. However, the hospital later confirmed that the certificate was counterfeit.

The court also learned that the accused was promoted to senior security guard under job grade 14 and later advanced to a higher grade, with the promotion reportedly based on academic qualifications as required under the hospital’s security guards scheme of service approved in 2002.

Rotich is also said to have served in various roles, including as a driver in the transport department from February 15, 2021, until his eventual dismissal.

Verification of his academic documents by the Kenya National Examinations Council revealed that the KCSE certificate he presented was unauthorised and obtained unlawfully.

Further investigations indicated that Rotich neither registered for nor sat the 2002 KCSE exams at Kitany Secondary School in Elgeyo Marakwet County.

Instead, the index number on the certificate belonged to a different candidate, identified as Chepsoi Kiprotich.

Following these findings, the hospital initiated disciplinary proceedings, but Rotich failed to respond to a show-cause letter or attend the disciplinary committee in September 2023.

Chemworsoio told the court that his employment was terminated effective 22 May 2023, and that he was informed of his right to appeal to the hospital’s board within six weeks.

The court heard that the discovery of multiple forged documents has raised serious concerns about the integrity of the institution's recruitment and promotion processes.

Officials said they launched an internal audit to review staff credentials across departments, particularly those in sensitive and technical units.

Chemworsoio noted that the hospital has since strengthened its hiring procedures, including mandatory verification of academic and professional certificates with relevant bodies before employment is confirmed.

She added that the management is working closely with investigative agencies to identify and take action against all individuals found to have secured employment fraudulently.

"Your Honour, our intervention has borne fruit, and I can assure you that the outcome of the ongoing case would inform broader policy changes within public health institutions to curb document fraud, and for that reason, I believe the intervention by our top management would improve employment terms in future,” Chemworsoio added.