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MP charged with forgery of academic certificates


A Member of Parliament was on Thursday charged with forging academic certificates which he allegedly presented to the electoral commission while seeking nomination for the March 4, 2013 General Election.

Kapseret MP Oscar Kipchumba Sudi is accused of committing the offence on January 31, 2013 at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices in Edoret, Uasin Gishu County.

Prosecutors said the documents included a Diploma in Business Management certificate purported to have been issued by Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) and a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate allegedly from Highway High School.

Last month, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) revealed in a report that Mr Sudi also made a false declaration under oath, part of the charges read out to the politician in court on Thursday.

FALSE INFORMATION

Mr Sudi is said to have given false information to Mr Marine Bernard Mutali of IEBC that he had acquired a KCSE certificate from the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC) and a diploma from KIM.

He allegedly committed the same offence on September 9, 2015 at Heron Court Hotel in Nairobi, where he allegedly told Mr Derick Kaisha of EACC that he had genuine academic credentials. The prosecution says the MP lied that he attained the diploma in 2008.

EACC investigators compiled the dossier on Mr Sudi in June and the Director of Public Prosecution recommended his prosecution.

Mr Sudi is charged with three counts of forgery, two counts of providing false information and making a false statutory declaration.

Last year, a whistle blower alerted the EACC that the MP did not posses the requisite academic qualifications, leading to investigations. The prosecution has listed seven witnesses in the case.

Mr Sudi denied all the charges before Anti-Corruption Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi at the Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi, and was released on a Sh600,000 bond or cash bail of Sh300,000. The case will be mentioned on October 19 for fixing of a hearing date.