Former REREC boss in the dock for fake papers
04:04:2024: EACC has charged a former General Manager, Finance and ICT at Rural Electrification and Renewal Energy Corporation (REREC) on forgery of academic certificates.
Noah Oketch Oluoch was arrested and arraigned yesterday before Senior Principal Magistrate Hon. Thomas Nzioki of the Anti-Corruption Court at Milimani in Nairobi. He pleaded not guilty to all three charges including fraudulent acquisition of public property, forgery, and uttering a false document.
The Court heard that on an unknown date and place within the Republic of Kenya, Mr. Oluoch forged a Master of Business Administration Degree Certificate No. 0217 in the Name of Noah Oluoch Oketch purporting it to be a genuine document issued to him by the University of Nairobi, a fact he knew to be false.
The Court was also told that Mr Oluoch, with intent to deceive, knowingly and fraudulently uttered the same certificate on 23rd March 2021 to CPA Peter Mbugua, the Chief Executive Officer at the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation.
Consequently, the Court was told, Mr. Oluoch acquired public property in terms of salary and allowances amounting to Kes1,455,066 from REREC between 1st April to 31st August 2022 having been employed as General Manager, Finance and ICT using a forged degree certificate.
He was released on a Kes1 million bond with a surety of a similar amount or Kes500,000 cash bail in the alternative. He was asked to deposit his travel documents with the Court in seven days and restricted from travelling out of the country without the Court’s leave. He will appear before Court for mention in two weeks, on 17th April.
In the same Court, the Commission also arraigned Philip Mutua Kilonzo on bribery charges. Mr Kilonzo faced three charges, two on receiving a bribe and one on obtaining money by false pretences.
The Court heard that on 4th October 2020 at Afro Sayari Hotel along the Eastern bypass within Nairobi County together with others not before court, Mr Kilonzo asked for a bribe of Kes2.9 million from three officials of United African Evangelical Ministries and an official of Grace Children’s Home with intent that in consequence, he would influence the writing off of alleged tax due to Kenya Revenue Authority by Grace Children’s Home.
On 1st October 2020 within Busia County, the Court was told, he unlawfully obtained Kes20,000 from one of the officials of United African Evangelical Ministries purporting it to be travelling expenses from Busia to KRA offices in Nairobi intending to resolve a tax dispute between KRA and Grace Children’s Home, a fact he knew to be false.
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was given a bond of Kes1 million with a similar surety or Kes700,000 cash bail in the alternative. He was restricted from travelling out of the country without the Court’s leave. He was also asked to surrender his travel documents to the Court in 14 days, during the mention for pre-trial conference on 17th April.
