The controversy over Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Johnson Sakaja’s academic qualifications has taken a new twist after it was revealed that he is yet to graduate from the University of Nairobi (UoN).
The incumbent Nairobi senator has frequently claimed that he graduated with a degree in Actuarial Science from the Nairobi-based institution.
According to UoN communications director John Orindi, the senator is still a student and has not completed the course because he was admitted to the university in 2003 on a module two programme.
“It is true Sakaja was admitted to the university and was pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science, studied from first year up to fourth year, but is yet to graduate,” Mr. Orindi told the Sunday Nation.
A letter from the university Deputy Vice-Chancellor Julius Ogeng’o to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) dated May 31, 2021, said Mr. Sakaja’s transcripts were incomplete.
“The attached copies of academic transcripts are incomplete and not signed by officers of this university.”
Sakaja is eyeing the Nairobi governor seat and a degree is a mandatory requirement for anyone seeking a governor seat.
On June 6, the super senator presented a degree from a Ugandan university to the electoral commission for approval.
Sakaja’s documents revealed that he attended Team University in Uganda and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Management.
The documents indicated he graduated on October 21, 2016.
However, according to the publication, a booklet from the institution for the October 2016 graduation ceremony does not contain his name among the six BSC (Management) graduands.
Mwenda Ntarangwi, the chief executive of the Commission for University Education (CUE), confirmed to him that Sakaja attended their online classes while vetting his certificate.
Since then, a petition has been filed asking the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to disqualify the senator from running for governor.
Mr. Dennis Gakuu Wahome wants the senator kicked out for failing to “meet the constitutional and statutory requirements to have a degree.”
Mr. Wahome stated in an affidavit supporting a case filed at the IEBC Disputes Resolutions Committee that the senator indicated on the nomination Jubilee form in 2017 that he graduated from the University of Nairobi.
“The respondent has demonstrated fraud and forgeries that have the potential to erode the public confidence in and diminish the integrity of qualifications in Uganda and Kenyan degrees both regionally as well as globally,” said Mr. Wahome.
