Four arrested in Mombasa for issuing fake PhD degrees

Police have arrested four suspects including two foreigners for illegally issuing master’s and PhD degrees at a hotel in Mombasa.

The suspects, an American citizen Dayis Lawrence Bennett, a Pakistani national Farah Akab, and Kenyans Ekra Ndung’u and Josephine Ndune, were caught awarding degrees after only three days of training.

They were apprehended at the hotel, where they had set up a temporary learning center.

Authorities disrupted a degree conferral ceremony, halting the issuance of unaccredited academic certificates.

Among the fraudulent awards were three Master of Business Administration (Leadership and Management) degrees and two honorary PhDs in Leadership.

The suspects were arraigned at the Shanzu Law Courts, where they denied charges of issuing degrees without accreditation, contrary to the Universities Act.

They were released on a Ksh400,000 bond or Ksh300,000 cash bail, with the court seizing the passports of the two foreigners.

The case will be mentioned on February 18, 2025, as authorities intensify efforts to crack down on fraudulent academic schemes.