First, take my advice with a pinch of salt because I’m not familiar with the job market in Kenya (I’m just assuming that’s where you are). My advice would be to get both. But if your situation allows you only one option, certifications (in my experience) tend to hold more weight than a diploma/degree, but they are very specific to one field.
Secondly, don’t be discouraged just because you don’t have experience; we all started from somewhere. You may not get your dream job the first time, but you’ve got to take baby steps with a simple job and build your skills. There are companies that would prefer to hire inexperienced people and train them on the job, but of course pay them less. As you were advised above, the first step is to decide what you want to do.
Now to my main points.
Certifications sound simple and easy to accomplish, but the opposite is true. I’ve taken a few Cisco and CompTIA exams and I assure you that they test on skills, experience and knowledge. They may ask a few ‘direct’ questions, but most of the questions are scenario-based. You have to know how to apply the knowledge- you can’t just cram/study your notes in a week (or a month) and pass the exam (unless, of course, you’ve worked in the field for a few years). Maybe you could on the lower-level certifications, but not on CCNA-level, Network+ level or Security+ level (I’m just giving examples, if you’d like to pursue IT Security). And this is where a degree/diploma would come handy because it will give you a chance to configure routers/switches/servers or whatever hardware/infrastructure you have. In short, certifications indicate that you know your stuff (and many have to be renewed every two or so years. There are several ways of doing it without having to retake the exams). Most certifications are also recognized internationally and that’s why the exams are done under very strict environments to maintain integrity.
On the other hand, degrees/diplomas, will give you knowledge in different fields, unlike certifications which are very specific. This is very critical because, many areas in IT are intertwined. I’ll give you an example of IT/Cyber-security : you definitely have to know networking-- from router/switch configuration to sub-netting, etc. You also need a good grip on Unix/Linux, PowerShell etc. Though you really don’t to be an expert in coding/scripting, you’ll need to be able to write simple scripts and have to be conversant with the command line. Server management and cloud computing knowledge is also a must. And so on. You get my drift? This is what a degree/diploma will give you in one program.
Lastly, don’t rush to do a course just for the money. Take time to learn the basics and everything else will fall in place.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do!!