EACC offers amnesty to fake paper holders

The Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) extended an olive branch to individuals in government who were employed using fake certification, demanding the unconditional refund of all payments made in form of salaries and commissions lest face prosecution. An audit by the Public Service Commission (PSC) last month revealed that more than 2000 fake academic and professional certificates were used to secure jobs in government institutions.

The appeal was targeted at public officers in the North Rift, where the PSC revealed that many secured employment in government using fake academic papers. “We have recently realised that there are so many civil servants in this region who have been earning salaries for many years using forged academic papers. We are appealing to those employees to surrender the salaries earned illegally and we are going to forgive them and withdraw cases against them,” said North Rift EACC Regional Manager Japheth Baithalu.

To foster amicable resolve to the impasse, the regional anti-graft boss proposed the application of the Alternative Justice System (AJS) to allow the indicted to gradually remit the monies to government after which they will be pardoned. But the commission is yet to issue a clear directive on whether the individuals who found culpable would continue to hold office. “Our major interest is to reclaim all public resources acquired illegally, because jailing people won’t’ restore the money,” said Mr Baithalu.

Barely a week a go the commission’s Chief Executive Twalib Mbarak issued a directive to all government agencies to with hold the payments of any dues to individuals who hastily vacated office or sought early retirements after being implicated in the fake certifications probe. Speaking during the release of the report on the authentication of academic and professional certificates in the public, Mbarak instructed all public offices nationwide to halt payments until the inquest was complete.