Ex-Auditor-General Deputy Director charged with forging degree to earn Sh28.4M

A former Deputy Director at the Office of the Auditor-General has been charged over an alleged forged university degree  certificate used to secure employment and fraudently earned more than Sh28.4 million in salaries.

Hannah Wambui Mwaura appeared before Chief Magistrate Harrison Barasa on Friday and pleaded not guilty to all the five counts of corruption and forgery-related charges.

According to the charge sheet, the prosecution alleges that between February 3, 2013 and May 23, 2024, while serving at the Office of the Auditor-General, formerly the Kenya National Audit Office, first as an Assistant Manager-Audit and later as Deputy Director-Audit, Mwaura fraudulently acquired public property amounting to Sh28,468,754.14 in salaries.

This is after she allegedly secured employment using a forged Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting Option) Second Class Honours (Upper Division) degree certificate purportedly issued by Mount Kenya University.

The prosecution alleges that the Office of the Auditor-General relied on the certificate when employing her.

In the second count, Mwaura is accused of deceiving a principal contrary to the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.

The prosecution claims that on February 3, 2014, she knowingly provided false information in her application for employment by stating that she held a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting Option) degree from Mount Kenya University obtained between 2008 and 2010, a fact she knew to be false.

She also faces a charge of forgery contrary to the Penal Code.

According to the charge sheet, on an unknown date and place within Kenya, with intent to deceive, you forged a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting Option) Second Class Honours Upper Division degree certificate from Mt Kenya University in the name of Anna Wambui Mwaura purporting it to be a genuine document issued to you by Mount Kenya University, a fact she knew to be false.

In the fourth count, the prosecution accuses her of uttering a false document.
It alleges that on or about February 4, 2014, while employed as an Assistant Manager-Audit, she knowingly and fraudulently presented the degree certificate to the Office of the Auditor-General while purporting it to be a genuine certificate issued by Mount Kenya University.

The fifth count accuses her of providing false information to a public entity contrary to the Leadership and Integrity Act.

The prosecution alleges that in July 2013 she submitted a curriculum vitae stating that she held a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting Option) degree from Mount Kenya University attained in 2010, information she allegedly knew to be false, thereby securing employment.

After denying the charges, the accused lawyer Amati urged the court to release his client on reasonable bail terms.

"We asked the court the accused be released on reasonable bail terms. We ask a Sh300,000 bond and the Sh100,000 police bail should be refunded. We pray for witness statements and any other documents. We have since been supplied with the charge sheet," the defence submitted.

The prosecution did not oppose her release on bail but requested the court to impose stringent conditions.

"We will not be objecting to any bail or bond terms unless she complies with all orders and deposits her passport with the court. We will also serve her with all the documents," the prosecutor said.

The charges follow investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which said it established that Mwaura submitted a forged Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate purportedly issued by Mount Kenya University to secure employment.

The Commission further stated that at the time she presented the certificate, she was still a student at the university and had not graduated.

In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Barasa said he had considered the charges and the prosecution's position.

"The court has considered the charges facing the accused and the fact that the application is not opposed," Barasa ruled.

He released Mwaura on a bond of Sh1 million or an alternative cash bail of Sh450,000.

The court further ordered her to deposit her passport with the court by the close of business on Friday, refrain from interfering with prosecution witnesses during the pendency of the case.

He further directed the prosecution to supply the defence with all evidence, witness statements and exhibits.

The matter will be mentioned on August 19, 2026, before Magistrate Ndombi for a pre-trial conference.