Ex-Auditor General's Deputy Director charged over alleged fake degree, Ksh.28.4M salaries

A former Deputy Director of Audit at the Office of the Auditor General has been charged with allegedly using a forged university degree certificate to secure employment and earn more than Ksh.28.4 million in salaries.

Hannah Wambui Maura, also known as Anna Wambui Mwaura, is accused of fraudulently acquiring public property amounting to Ksh.28,468,754.14 between February 3, 2013, and May 23, 2024.

According to the charge sheet, Maura allegedly obtained employment at the Office of the Auditor-General, formerly the Kenya National Audit Office, after presenting a Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate in Accounting, purportedly awarded by Mount Kenya University on August 20, 2010.

The certificate indicated that she had attained a Second Class Honours Upper Division.

Prosecutors allege that the Office of the Auditor General relied on the certificate when employing Maura, who later rose through the ranks from Assistant Manager Audit to Deputy Director-Audit.

She is charged with fraudulent acquisition of public property contrary to Section 45(1)(a), as read with Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.

The prosecution further alleges that in July 2013, Maura provided false information to a public entity by stating in her curriculum vitae that she held a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from Mount Kenya University, obtained in 2010.

She allegedly knew the information was false but used it to secure employment.

In another count, Maura is accused of providing false information to the Office of the Auditor-General on February 3, 2014, when she stated in an employment application form that she had obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Accounting from Mount Kenya University after studying between 2008 and 2010.

She allegedly knew, or ought to have known, that the information was false.

Maura also faces a forgery charge under Sections 345 and 349 of the Penal Code.

The prosecution alleges that she forged a Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate bearing the name Anna Wambui Mwaura and presented it as a genuine document issued by Mount Kenya University.

She is further charged with uttering a false document contrary to Section 353 of the Penal Code.

The prosecution alleges that on or about February 4, 2014, while serving as an Assistant Manager-Audit at the Office of the Auditor-General, Maura knowingly and fraudulently presented the alleged forged certificate as genuine.

She also faces a charge of deceiving her principal contrary to Section 41(2), as read with Section 48 of the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act.

The prosecution alleges that she deceived the Office of the Auditor General by providing false information about her academic qualifications in her employment application.