With just 55 days to the August 9 elections, some political big wigs are having a tough time proving the legitimacy of their academic qualifications, failure to which they will be disqualified.
Petitions are pending in court and questions have also been raised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) over the academic qualifications of some politicians.
Their fate now hangs in the balance. Here is a list of politicians with the questionable papers:
Johnson Sakaja
The Nairobi Senator is having a tough time proving that he has the academic qualifications to run for the city's gubernatorial seat.
Sakaja's woes started after four petitions were filed claiming that he may have acquired his academic papers fraudulently. The University of Nairobi, where Sakaja is alleged to be an Actuarial Science graduate, told the DCI that he had not graduated yet.
The University told the DCI that Sakaja’s transcripts are incomplete and have not been signed. A petitioner, Dennis Gakuyo, moved to court also seeking to establish the legitimacy of Sakaja's purported degree from Team University in Uganda. Gakuyo wants Sakaja's nomination revoked on the basis that he lacks a valid university degree.
Wavinya Ndeti
Two petitioners moved to court to challenge the IEBC's move to allow the former Transport Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) to contest for the governor's seat in Machakos county.
The complainants want the IEBC disputes resolution committee to revoke Ndeti's clearance alleging that she is not qualified to vie for the position since she does not have a university degree as required by the law.
In documents filed in court, the duo alleged that her academic certificates are questionable and inconsistent. They claimed that although Ndeti claims she studied in the UK, there is no record of her ever registering in the UK under permutations of her name.
Walter Mong'are
The electoral commission revoked the clearance certificate for the Umoja Summit Party presidential aspirant, Walter Mong'are also known as Nyambane, for lack of a university degree. IEBC chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, stated that they had new information which showed that Mong'are lacked a university degree.
Chebukati stated that the electoral commission summoned Nyambane to appear before the Commission but he did not honour the summon and, therefore, the Commission resolved to revoke the nomination dated June 2.
Jimi Wanjigi
The Safina Party presidential aspirant was rejected by IEBC for lack of a university degree. Wanjigi questioned why Nyambane was cleared earlier yet he also had the same academic issues.
However, addressing a press conference, Chebukati explained that Nyambane's clearance was done on limited information regarding his academic qualifications but when the IEBC was provided with new information, they resolved to remove him from the list of cleared presidential candidates for lack of a university degree.
Chebukati, who analysed Wanjigi’s documents at the Bomas of Kenya, pointed out that Wanjigi presented transcripts instead of a certificate arguing that he was set to graduate in December 2022 as per a letter from his Daystar University.
“You must bring a physical copy of your degree certificate before I clear you, we can also allow you in the remaining hours to harmonize your signatures and come back,” Chebukati stated.
Raila Odinga
Although he was cleared by the IEBC to vie for in the presidential race, Raila Odinga's academic qualifications have raised issues in the UDA Camp.
While addressing predicaments facing Sakaja, UDA raised questions on Raila's degree certificate.
The party's Secretary-General, Veronica Maina, speaking on Citizen TV on Tuesday, June 14, claimed that Raila Odinga's academic papers’ also raise questions about their legitimacy, calling on IEBC to re-examine them.
“Questions have also been asked about the credibility of presidential candidates’ qualifications. You have seen a lot of headlines questioning the university that our biggest opponent, Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, qualified from,” Maina stated
“It is a very big question which needs to be looked at, not through the lens of just one candidate, but a wider public question."
She also added that Roots Party presidential candidate, George Luchiri Wajackoya’s purported 17 degrees should also be double-checked to verify if they are legitimate.
Granton Samboja
The academic degree of the Taita Taveta governor was declared fake by Kenyatta University. The institution stated that the degree Samboja used to contest during the August 8, 2017 election was forged.
The university stated that Samboja was not a student at the institution.
Samboja was facing a petition challenging his win filed by Armstrong Mwandoo Kiwoi who wanted the court to nullify it
Kenyatta University's lawyer, Aaron Tanui, told the court that the university did not recognise the degree that Samboja used. It also emerged that the governor tried to enroll for a master's of business administration studies in the institution using the fake degree but was turned down.
