University of Nairobi Council Chair Prof Amukowa Anangwe was dramatically arrested at the Kisumu International Airport by detectives from Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) on Friday, May 16.
He was flown to Nairobi, where he was charged with abetting fraud that saw one suspect, Brian Ouma Okeyo, hired and promoted to senior positions using fake academic certificates.
Anangwe was charged alongside four other council members: Dr Ahmed Sheikh Abdullahi, Caren Kerubo Omwenga, Joel Kamau Kibe and Darius Mogaka Ogutu.
Okeyo, according to EACC holds a Bachelor of Philosophy degree certificate from Pontifical Urbaniana University, which is not an accredited institution in Kenya as such, the certificate is not recognized in Kenya.
“The Pontifical Urbaniana University has never sought accreditation from the Commission for University Education to collaborate with Apostles of Jesus Philosophicum Major Seminary, Kenya, in contravention of Section 28 of the Universities Act (Accreditation of Foreign Universities,” read a statement by EACC.
The commission further argued that Okeyo obtained a mean grade of C- (Minus) in KCSE, thus, he did not have the necessary qualifications to undertake a degree program in Kenya.
Despite the glaring academic flaws, Okeyo was appointed on March 15, 2015, as Deputy Director (Fundraising, Donor Relations and Partnership), a position the commission said was similar to that of Associate Professor, which required one to be a PhD holder. A qualification he did not have.
It is his reappointment as the university’s Acting Chief Operations officers on April 2024 that landed Anangwe and four other council members in trouble.
They are accused of bypassing former Vice Chancellor Prof Peter Kiama’s letter, which nullified the reappointment of Okeyo, a move that raised eyebrows.
Anangwe and his co-accused were granted a cash bail of KSh 500,000 or a bond of KSh 1 million.
Okeyo was charged separately with the unlawful acquisition of public property being KSh. 32,459,406.15 paid to him as salary by the University of Nairobi.
He was granted a cash bail of KSh 3 million or a bond of KSh 5 million.
