A 28-year-old man accused of forging international vaccination certificates and vaccine stamps will face trial after the High Court in Nairobi rejected his attempt to stop the criminal proceedings.
The ruling delivered on Thursday, October 22, allows the case to proceed at Kahawa Law Courts, where the man faces charges of making a false document and forgery.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the suspect was arrested in August 2025 following investigations by detectives from the Transnational Organised Crime Unit.
Prosecutors allege that between July 1 and August 8, 2025, he worked with other individuals who have not been charged to produce fake yellow fever vaccination certificates purportedly issued by Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital.
The certificates were allegedly recovered from six Somali nationals intercepted at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on August 8, 2025, as they were reportedly being taken to Libya through Egypt.
The suspect is also accused of forging six injectable polio vaccine stamps on certificates said to have been issued by Port Health Services at Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
During a search of his residence in the Claywork area of Kasarani, investigators reportedly recovered 274 blank international vaccination certificates, 91 single-dose vaccination cards and a counterfeit Port Health officer’s seal.
The suspect challenged the prosecution, arguing that police officers searched his home without a warrant and that documents allegedly seized during the operation were later used as evidence against him.
Furthermore, he denied having any knowledge about the documents quoted in the case.
The Director of Public Prosecutions was against his application under Section 57 of the National Police Service Act, which provides that a police officer may at any time enter on any premises without a search warrant under certain circumstances.
This decision by the High Court implies that the criminal case can continue since the allegations have not yet been proved in court.
The case has come at a time when the authorities are trying to solve the problem of forgery of documents. The other day, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission arrested an ex-staff member of the Office of the Auditor-General who is alleged to have used a forged document to obtain employment and Ksh5.8 million from the public purse.
