A former Nairobi County employee has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to forging academic certificates and using the fake certificates to secure government jobs.
Mr Gabriel Bukachi Chapia was given the option of paying a fine of Sh150,000 to escape the jail term.
He was further directed to refund a total of Sh3.9 million, from monies he earned while working at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest), failing to which he will serve an additional year in jail.
Mr Bukachi was convicted last Friday, September 19, 2025 by Milimani anti-corruption magistrate C.N. Ondieki, after entering a plea bargain agreement with the prosecution.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of forgery of academic certificates and two counts of fraudulent acquisition of public property, contrary to section 45(1)(a) as read with section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.
“Accordingly, save the recommendation on compensation set out under paragraphs 18-21 of the agreement and the further recommendation on the sentence set out under paragraph 22 of the agreement which will be considered at the sentence, this court adopts all other terms of the Plea Agreement as a judgment of this court,” said the magistrate.
Mr Bukachi forged a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree, which he claimed to have obtained from Maseno University.
He was also convicted of forging a Master’s degree in information Technology from Daystar University, which he claimed to have obtained on November 24, 2009.
Mr Bukachi presented the certificates for employment at MTRH at senior level as ICT manager and later at KenIvest.
Last year, the court rejected an application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga, seeking to withdraw charges against him.
The DPP had said in the application that he had considered the fact that Mr Bukachi claimed that he has the qualifications which are the subject of the charges, and there was the need to withdraw the charges and pursue further investigations.
According to the prosecution, it was in the interest of justice to withdraw the case than cause miscarriage of justice.
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which investigated the case, opposed the application saying it was not in public interest to terminate the case.
Mr Ondieki dismissed the application saying the move was not made in public interest, the interests of the administration of justice or the need to prevent or and avoid abuse of the legal process.
The magistrate ruled that contrary to the claims by the DPP, the application was based purely on the request by the accused persons, for review of the decision to charge and not new evidence as alleged.
Mr Bukachi was charged on November 6, 2020 with 16 counts of forgery, giving false information and uttering false documents to secure employment.
“… this court is persuaded that the plea agreement has passed not only the legality test contemplated of such agreements under article 159(2)(c) of the constitution and sections 137A-1370 of the CPC, but also the consensual test,” said the magistrate.
