President William Ruto on Wednesday April 17, 2024 raised alarm over the existence of about 2,100 Kenyans who used fake academic certificates to secure government jobs.

The president made the remarks during the third edition of the National Wage Bill Conference in Nairobi, where he exposed the impact of corruption within the public sector and how it was affecting national development.

“A simple audit has revealed that we have 2,100 people with fake certificates working for government,” he said. 

“We must deal firmly with corruption. There is a lot of wastage and theft in the public space. We can put more resources into development and I think we have now stabilised what we needed to stabilise. We will now confront corruption, head on, going forward,” he added.

Ruto further emphasized his commitment to tackling corruption, adding that he will begin by confronting individuals who unlawfully accumulated wealth from the State during their time in office.

The President further suggested that individuals who were earning salary using fake certificates must repay the funds they acquired fraudulently.

“Those who have earned money using fake certificates should refund us our public money,” he said.  

“ Isn’t it the equivalent of obtaining money by false pretence? They should leave, resign and go away and look for money to pay us the public resources that they have earned falsely,” he added.