Unless other examples of Kenyan birth certificates from the same period showing the difference can themselves be authenticated, your point is correct. Affidavits from other countries must also be authenticated. I am not sure, but notary seals may not be recognized as authentic unless an evidentiary hearing can be held with the notary to allow both sides a chance to examine the notary.
I am not even sure obtaining a document through the payment of a bribed can ever be considered an official document, even if it was examined by experts and declared authentic.
Come to think of it, that may well be what’s afoot here. If a court of competent jurisdiction ever had a Kenyan birth certificate of Barack Obama Jr., authenticated, even if it was eventually thrown out on other legal grounds, Obama would be toast. However, I can’t see a court ever doing such a hair-brained thing when even if authenticated, it could never be entered into evidence.
ex animo
davidfarrar
The bribe was not to the issuer of the document. Still, given that Othugo, cousin of Obama, is the Prime Minister, getting the document authenticated could be very problematic.