Mombasa detectives have arrested four suspects, including two foreigners, who were running an unregistered university and issuing fake Master’s and PhD degrees. The four – Dayis Lawrence Bennett (an American citizen), Farah Akab (a Pakistani national), Ekra Ndung’u and Josephine Ndune – were caught in the act of issuing degree certificates to three-day learners at a makeshift institution at the White Sands Hotel.
Bogus Award Ceremony Halted
Detectives from Bamburi Police Station burst into the premises and stopped the award ceremony where fake degrees were being confered. Among the fake awards issued were three Master of Business Administration (Leadership and Management) degrees and two honorary PhDs in Leadership (Hon. Causa).
“By the time the officers arrived the award ceremony had just begun and the offenders were whisked away,” DCI reported.
Charges and Bond
The suspects were taken to Shanzu Law Courts where they were charged with Conferring Degrees without Accreditation of Foreign Universities contrary to Section 28(2) as read with Section 5 of the Universities Act.
They pleaded not guilty and were released on a KSh 400,000 bond with a surety of the same amount or an alternative cash bail of KSh 300,000. The court also ordered the foreign suspects to surrender their passports.
The case will be mentioned on February 18, 2025.