Sakaja degree case dismissed by IEBC

The committee said it lacks jurisdiction to determine the authenticity of Sakaja's degree

Piece by: The Star
Politics

• The committee said it lacks jurisdiction to determine the authenticity of Sakaja's degree. 

• A petitioner, Dennis Wahome, had told the committee in an affidavit that Sakaja's Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Team University in Uganda is forged. 

Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Johnson Sakaja has been cleared by IEBC's Dispute Resolution Committee to contest for the seat at the August polls.

This is after the tribunal on Sunday dismissed a petition that challenged the validity of his degree.

The committee said it lacks jurisdiction to determine the authenticity of the document. 

"I'm glad that we have been vindicated, we stand qualified, we have the requisite qualifications to run for the office of governor of Nairobi," Sakaja said. 

Sakaja is seeking the governor seat on a UDA ticket alongside Absa Bank Kenya Chief Operating Officer James Njoroge as his running mate.

"We are in it to win so that we can transform this great city of ours," he added soon after the verdict was delivered. 

"So we sall continue with our campaigns in earnest, we shall continue talking to the people of Nairobi," Sakaja said, adding that he will launch his manifesto soon.

A petitioner, Dennis Wahome, had told the committee in an affidavit that Sakaja's Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Team University in Uganda was forged. 

He wanted the senator's clearance certificate issued on July 7, 2022 by IEBC revoked on grounds that he is not qualified to vie for the seat of governor.

The Elections Act makes it mandatory for a person vying for the seat of governor to be a holder of a degree from a university recognized in Kenya.

Regarding the investigations ordered by the police on concerns about the authenticity of aspirants' academic credentials, Sakaja said he will abide by the law.  

"I'm a law abiding citizen, I'm a public servant as the current senator of Nairobi and we shall abide by all the provisions of the law," he said.

"We stand strong, we stand prepared for battle...and it's a battle of ideas. I would like to ask our competitors to rely on that process not to try and rely on deep state," the senator said.

Earlier on, the DRC also dismissed a petition that had challenged the validity of Machakos governor seat aspirant Wavinya Ndeti over the same reason.

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