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The controversy pertaining to the academic qualifications of Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has taken a new twist after it emerged that there were inconsistencies on what the legislator has said in the past about the institution he attended for his undergraduate course. Mr Sakaja who is vying for governor of Nairobi had presented a degree from a Ugandan university which he intended to use for clearance for the race. However, a booklet from the institution for the graduation ceremony that took place in October 2016 does not contain Mr Sakaja’s name among the six Bsc. (Management) graduands.
In the past, the senator has also often claimed that he graduated with a degree in actuarial science from the University of Nairobi (UoN). UoN has however revealed that the senator is still a student and is yet to complete the course. Mr. Sakaja had attended the course from first year up to fourth year but was yet to graduate.
The Elections Act states that: a person nominated as a candidate for election as president, deputy president, county governor or deputy county governor must be a holder of a degree from a university recognized in Kenya.
However, when the Kenyan Commission for University Education (CUE) followed up with the Ugandan University, the University wrote back and said Mr Sakaja attended the programme online. The qualifications were also confirmed by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education.
A petitoner, Mr Alex Musalia, argues that the senator had not satisfied the requirements of the law as it was not clear how he completed his degree studies abroad while serving as MP full-time. He says the circumstances under which the degree was accredited shortly before the submission of his papers to IEBC was suspect.