Kenya Ports Authority staff with fake papers plead for demotion

Danson Mungatana addressing a press conference.

A union representing 136 employees of Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) said to be holding false academic and professional certificates has moved to court to stop the possible sacking of its members or a probe into the matter.

The Dock Workers Union (DWU) has instead blamed KPA for the jobs' fiasco and is now seeking amnesty for the employees.

Through lawyer Danson Mungatana, a former chairman of the KPA board and past Member of Parliament for Garsen, the 136 have sought orders in the Industrial Court to stop being investigated by KPA and are pleading to be demoted or pardoned instead of being sacked.

Claims of employment through false certificates have swirled around KPA since 2012 when an audit on documents began.

Mr Mungatana filed the case on August 13 and it was certified urgent by Justice James Rika who set a hearing date of August 24.

"As stated before, the temptation of the affected employees to sneak in the said certificates in their files was contributed to by management. The management failed to subject the certificates to audit by the originating institutions as is required," said DWU Secretary General Simon Sang in a letter filed in court as part of supporting documents of the suit.

Mr Sang' argues that KPA should give the affected employees amnesty saying similar pardon had been accorded to a number of secretaries who faced similar charges at KPA in the past.

"Since the blame is 50-50 between the management and employees, the union recommends that the culprits be demoted if they have benefited from the said certificates and spared from termination," states one of the letter signed by Sang.

Most of the affected workers, according to the records in our possession, forged Form Four certificates.

"Investigations carried out have revealed that you presented forged academic certificates to the KPA management for the purpose of employment or career advancement," states a letter to Mr Japhet Ontiri Ngare, the current head of conventional cargo operations.

The letter signed by KPA General Manager, Human Resource and Administration,  Salim Chingabwi, which has also be tabled in court, indicate that Mr Ngare neither registered nor sat the 1995 KCSE examinations at Gesiaga Secondary School.

The other employee is Erick Ocheing Onditi, a junior engine room technician, who KPA says forged his KCSE certificate.

In his response, Mr Onditi said that he was employed by KPA inJuly 2001 as a casual and that he then had only a KCPE certificate and that despite his promotions, he has never presented the said fake certificate.

KPA, with a workforce of about 2,600, has been rocked by reports that 136 employees, including some managers, were employed or promoted on the basis of fake certificates, but it has not been clear why the process of verifying these documents, which began in 2012, has never come to a conclusion or ended in criminal prosecution for forgery or fraud.

Mombasa police claim they cannot intervene in the matter until they are invited by KPA.

In June this year, KPA appointed a committee lead by Procurement Manager Yobesh Oyaro to investigate the matter.

The employees, through their lawyer, said that the committee was not objective given that Mr Oyaro represents KPA hence lacks fairness.