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Firm fined Sh450,000 for using lecturer’s stolen CV in Central Bank tender bid
A property valuation company has been ordered to pay a University of Nairobi lecturer Sh450,000 for using his resume and academic certificates to apply for a tender without his consent.
A property valuation company has been ordered to pay a University of Nairobi (UoN) lecturer Sh450,000 for using his resume and academic certificates to apply for a tender at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) without his consent.
Geosky Services Limited, a private company that specialises in property and real estate valuation and management, has been ordered by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) to pay Ayub Odanya Naburi a penalty as compensation for violating his rights by using his personal data without his consent.
The firm’s directors – Joel Cheburet Toroitich, Hillary Kigen Koech, and Dominic Kiprop Swai – also face prosecution for the offence of stealing Mr Naburi’s personal details and using them to apply for a tender without his knowledge or permission.
“The respondent is hereby found liable for using the complainant’s personal data without a lawful basis and for denying the complainant an opportunity to exercise his right to be informed before processing of his personal data,” noted Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait in a ruling.
According to Mr Naburi, the firm presented him in the tender bid as its employee, yet he has never worked for or with any of the company's directors. One of the firm’s directors allegedly had professional connections with him, enabling them to access his personal information used for the fraudulent bid.
The CBK tender was for the provision of professional valuation services for fixed assets, and the firm fraudulently used his curriculum vitae (CV), academic certificates, professional certificates, and membership number to show that they had skilled staff for the tender.
The UoN don told the data protection commissioner that the firm intended to use his professional positions as a lecturer and a member of the Estate Agents Registration Board to elevate their chances of securing the tender.
He only learned of his inclusion in the bidding documents when the CBK reached out to the Institute of Surveyors of Kenya for verification following concerns about his professional qualifications.
“This revelation caused significant reputational damage as the information circulated within professional surveyor and valuer networks,” said Ms Kassait, siding with Mr Naburi in his quest for compensation from the accused firm.
The firm was finally not awarded the CBK tender, but it has previously won similar tenders from State agencies. It is unclear if it used falsely acquired documents in past applications.
For instance, it won a tender for valuation from the Kenya Reinsurance Company during the 2021/22 financial year and another from the Kenya Development Corporation in June last year.
Neither the firm nor its directors responded to queries from the ODPC on its inquiry into the alleged fraud, forcing the data regulator to make a decision based on its own investigations.
