The hearing of a case in which a former Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital employee is accused of forging academic qualifications to secure employment at the country’s second largest public health facility has been adjourned for the second consecutive time.

This was after a key witness in the trial of Celestine Chepsoi Cherop failed to turn up before the Eldoret Chief Magistrate Peter Ndwiga as expected. Ms Cherop who is out on bond told the court that she was not ready to proceed with the matter until the said witness is presented in court.

“Your honour, I pray that you adjourn the hearing of my case to give the witness ample time to come to court so that the matter can proceed without further delay,” Cherop pleaded.

When the matter came up for hearing, the court was told that the said witness was not able to make it to court due to “unavoidable circumstances” and prayed for more time to prepare himself.

“Your honour, we have been informed that one of the key witnesses that we were expecting to come to court has been held up on his way from Kabarnet town in Baringo County. We pray that you give us a new date,” the prosecution told the court.

Cherop is charged with submitting fake academic and professional certificates to secure employment at the Eldoret based public hospital where she earned more than Ksh7.1 million in salary.

She committed the said offence between July 2025 and August 2025 at MTRH in Uasin Gishu County. She denied the fraud during plea taking.

Cherop is among 28 former employees the hospital is pursuing to recover more than Ksh100 million after discovering that they were hired on fake academic and professional certificates.

The said former staff who held various middle-level positions were sent packing following a human resource audit that uncovered the use of forged documents to secure various jobs, promotions and financial benefits running into millions of shillings.

According to court documents, the said former employees are now facing criminal charges in various courts in the region.

When he appeared before an Eldoret court two weeks ago, the hospital’s Director of Finance Mathew Birgen revealed that the institution was pursuing individual recoveries including a case involving a former staff from whom more than Ksh6 million is being sought. The amount is said to have been paid as salary for over 10 years before it was established that forged academic and professional certificates were used to get employment.

“We received instructions from the government to carry out an audit of academic and professional papers held by our employees and we immediately did so, leading to the discovery of forged papers presented by them,” Birgen told the court.

Birgen informed the court that some of the dismissed employees were initially hired on contracts but were later absorbed on permanent and pensionable terms after presenting fake papers.

“We carried out due diligence with the relevant bodies including the Kenya National Examination Council, which confirmed that some of the academic papers presented were forged,” Birgen said.

The case was adjourned until September 2026.

• A Tell Media / KNA report / By Ekuwam Sylvesters