Inside Politics

Sakaja heads to court after CUE nullifies degree

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022 22:05 | By
Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja when he appeared before Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Tribunal over a case challenging his qualification to vie for governor seat. PHOTO/Nancy Gitonga
Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja when he appeared before Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Tribunal over a case challenging his qualification to vie for governor seat. PHOTO/Nancy Gitonga

Embattled Nairobi governorship candidate Johnson Sakaja yesterday rushed to the High Court to challenge the revocation of a Bachelor’s degree he obtained from a Ugandan university.

He took the move even as he dragged President Uhuru Kenyatta’s name to his mounting woes, claiming the Head of State was behind the revocation of the academic credentials.

  “The purported revocation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) chairman is null and void and politically instigated. The chairman, Prof Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, has been coerced and intimidated by President Uhuru Kenyatta to illegally revoke recognition of accreditation that has been properly issued,” he said in an angry post on his social media handles.

 With the prospects of his candidature in abeyance, Sakaja, also the outgoing city senator, filed a case against the Commission for University Education (CUE) for revoking his degree in Management from Ugandan-based Team University. The CUE revoked the degree saying it needed time to conduct investigations on it.

However, in a judicial review petition filed at the High Court in Milimani, Nairobi, last evening, Sakaja wants the court to quash CUE’s decision dated June 14 and issue a prohibitory order stopping the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from striking out his name from the list of cleared candidates for the city governorship.

 Sakaja also wants the court to compel CUE to maintain the validity of his degree, which he obtained from Team University, Kampala Uganda.

The Constitution requires a candidate for a governor’s seat to possess at least a Bachelor’s degree from a university recognised by CUE.

 In his court papers, the senator argues CUE’s decision is illegal, biased and amounts to an unfair administration action. Further, that the revocation is anchored on mischief and crafty political agenda whose principal objective is to eliminate him from the governorship race.

 “Sakaja is aggrieved by the decision of CUE because the said decision was unfairly and discriminately against him and in favour of his political rivals,” his lawyer Elias Mutuma says in his court papers.

 He adds that the decision to revoke was rashly undertaken by the CUE without any evidence as the matter is still under investigation.

 “The decision was unjustly arrived at on political and unfair grounds. Sakaja was not accorded a fair hearing nor have any substantial reasons been provided as to the decision therein made,” says the lawyer.

Violated constitution

 Sakaja states that the decision by the agency was in violation of his constitution rights to a fair administrative action and a fair hearing.

 “Strangely on June 14 2022, without an iota of legality or justification, the Respondents have purported to revoke “the recognition” of Sakaja’s degree. It is extremely outrageous, irrational and preposterous for the CUE to purport to revoke the ‘recognition’ of the Applicant’s degree when admittedly they are still undertaking investigations. By all logical standards, revocation cannot precede investigation,” adds the lawyer.

 He said the documents he presented to be cleared to run for the governorship, including a degree certificate from Team University in Uganda, were genuine.

 The Bachelor of Science in Management degree the senator claims he was awarded by the university in 2016, has been at the centre of contention with petitioners saying it was a forgery.

 Yesterday, Sakaja, 37, who is vying for the seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party led by Deputy President William Ruto, shared documents he said he had presented to the IEBC to clear him.

The President’s party, Jubilee, is sponsoring Polycarp Igathe, Sakaja’s biggest rival under the Azimio One Kenya Alliance. A recent opinion poll done by Trends and Insights for Africa indicated a tight race between the two although Sakaja was slightly ahead.

In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, Sakaja posted documents he claimed cleared any doubt about his qualifications arguing authorities in Uganda had given his degree a clean bill of health. He provided references from Team University, CUE, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the IEBC, Kenya’s High Commission in Uganda and National Council for Higher Education (Uganda) that appeared to prove the authenticity of his degree. 

However, while revoking the degree, the CUE Chairman, Prof Chacha, said they had done so after obtaining more information on its acquisition.

“CUE has, however, received material information about the authenticity of the degree you presented from Team University that will require further investigation to ascertain the validity of the said degree certificate,” said Prof Chacha in letter dated June 14 which was sent with a letterhead bearing the Commission CEO’s office.

Earlier, the Commission had approved Sakaja’s degree saying it had done its investigations and found it to be genuine.

In a letter to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission dated June 13 signed by CUE Chief Executive Officer Mwenda Ntarangwi, the Commission expressed its satisfaction with the degree certificate from the Ugandan university saying it had done due diligence and found that the institution was recognized in the country and Sakaja graduated on October 21, 2016.

“It is on the basis of the opinion stated above that the Commission recognized the qualification in question,” said Prof Ntarangwi.

Last evening, three cases filed against the senator were withdrawn while an affidavit sworn against him was thrown dropped. 

A week before the Commission had also assured Sakaja that his certificate had been found to be genuine when he wrote requesting to be informed of its status.

“It is hereby confirmed that Team University is a recognised institution in Uganda. The qualification awarded by the said institution is also recognised in Uganda and by convention in Kenya,”Ntarangwi said on June 6.

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