Former County Assembly of Kiambu human resource officer Margaret Njeri Mbugua has been fined KSh1.06 million after admitting to using a forged Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate to secure employment.
The Milimani Anti-Corruption Court delivered the judgment on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after Mbugua pleaded guilty to three charges under a plea agreement with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Magistrate Isabellah Barasa convicted her of fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document and presenting a forged certificate.
The court fined Mbugua KSh20,000 on each of the three counts, bringing the total fine to KSh60,000. She will serve six months in prison for each count if she fails to pay the respective fines.
In addition to the fines, the court ordered her to pay KSh1 million in compensation to the government for fraudulently acquiring public property.
The compensation brought the total financial penalty to KSh1.06 million.
Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) established that Mbugua used a forged KCSE certificate to obtain employment at the County Assembly of Kiambu.
The certificate indicated that she had sat for her secondary school examinations in 1996 at Gachoire Secondary School. However, investigations established that the academic document was not genuine.
Mbugua used the certificate to secure a position at the county assembly, where she received a salary amounting to KSh4,921,953.80 between November 2020 and August 2025.
The investigation led to her being charged with four offences, including forgery of a KCSE certificate, fraudulent acquisition of public property, uttering a false document and presenting a forged certificate.
The charge of uttering a false document was brought under Section 353 as read with Section 349 of the Penal Code, while presenting a forged certificate was charged under Section 34(a) of the Kenya National Examinations Council Act.Mbugua pleaded guilty to three of the four charges, leading to her conviction under the plea agreement.
The available details indicate that the forgery charge was separate from the three counts to which she admitted guilt.
The EACC welcomed the court’s decision, saying the conviction sends a warning to individuals who use forged academic documents to obtain public jobs and access government resources.
The case highlights the consequences of submitting fake academic certificates to secure employment in public institutions, where recruitment is expected to follow established qualifications and procedures.
The commission has continued to investigate cases involving corruption and fraudulent acquisition of public resources, with the latest conviction adding to efforts to hold public officers accountable for offences committed while seeking or holding government positions.
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