Juja Member of Parliament George Koimburi has been charged with multiple counts of forging academic certificates dating back to 1994. The legislator was arrested on Tuesday morning outside his residence on Kenyatta Road, Juja, before being taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters for questioning.
On Wednesday, Koimburi appeared before the Kiambu Law Courts, where he faced six counts related to the forgery of academic documents and an additional charge for repeatedly failing to attend court sessions.
According to the charge sheet, the first count accuses Koimburi of forging a Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) certificate between November and December 1994 to fraudulently acquire a Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). The second count alleges that between September 2011 and April 2012, he forged a certificate of participation in the East African Universities Accession Project from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
The third count claims that within the same period, Koimburi obtained a purportedly forged certificate from the School of Human Resource Development at JKUAT. In the fourth count, the prosecution asserts that on March 8, 2021, Koimburi “knowingly and fraudulently” presented a forged KCSE certificate to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The fifth count states that on the same date, he presented his alleged certificate of participation in the East African Universities Accession Project from JKUAT to EACC. The sixth count further implicates him for presenting a forged School of Human Resource Development certificate from JKUAT to the EACC.
Koimburi’s arrest comes amid heightened political tensions, as he has been a vocal critic of the government. Recently, he claimed that the government spent approximately Ksh.13 billion campaigning for Raila Odinga in the African Union Commission (AUC) elections, where Odinga lost to Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. His comments sparked political debate and drew scrutiny from various quarters.
His lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, has linked Koimburi’s arrest to his outspoken remarks regarding the AUC elections, suggesting that the charges could be politically motivated. However, the government has not responded to these allegations.
Koimburi’s legal battle is expected to continue as the case unfolds, with potential implications for his political future. The court proceedings will determine whether the charges hold ground or if they are merely an attempt to silence a government critic. As the case develops, it remains to be seen how the MP will navigate the legal and political ramifications of these serious allegations.
