DCI Detectives and Bamburi Station police officers have arrested four individuals in connection to the issuing fake Masters and PhD degrees after a 3-Day training period.

Two of the four suspects are Kenyans, one American, and a Pakistani national. According to a statement issued by DCI boss Mohammed Amin, the cons were running a fake university from a Mombasa beach hotel.

“The four were found issuing Masters and PhD degrees to excited participants who had received training for only three days,” Amin said.

Police officers caught wind of the scam just before the suspects could hold an online graduation ceremony with their students enrolled at the sham university.

“Some of the fraudulently awarded degrees include three Master of Business Administration (Leadership and Management) and two PhDs in Leadership (Hon. Causa)” he added.

The four suspects were held at a police station before being presented at Shanzu Law Courts, where they faced charges for issuing degrees without accreditation from foreign universities, violating Section 28(2) as read with Section 5 of the Universities Act.

It reads ‘A person who without the authority of the Commission under this Act purports to license, accredit, recognise, audit, inspect, index students or collect a fee or a charge from a university or a student commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh. 2 million or imprisonment.’

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“The accused persons entered a plea of not guilty where they were given a bond of Sh. 400,000 with similar surety, which must be done on oath before the duty court or a cash bail of Sh. 300,000,” Amin clarified.

The American and Pakistani citizens surrendered their passports to the court as they awaited the mention of their case on February 18, 2025.

The emergence of fraudulent universities in Kenya is not a new issue, as the EACC has continually dealt with individuals presenting fake academic credentials. In response, the DCI, in conjunction with EACC, has ramped up efforts to crack down on counterfeit certificates.

In 2024, the EACC expanded its crackdown to include public officers, leading to numerous arrests of individuals who had been employed through fake and fraudulent academic documents.