Africa-Press – Kenya. Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s gubernatorial bid still hangs in the balance after Uganda opened investigations into his Team University degree.
Sakaja appeared to have overcome the hurdle that has stocked his political career when IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) cleared him to contest for the governor seat on June 19, 2022.
The senator got another reprieve on June 22 after the Commission for University Education withdrew a letter that had revoked the degree.
But Uganda’s New Vision now reports that the country’s National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) has opened investigations into the authenticity of Sakaja’s Bachelor of Science in Management degree.
The paper quoted NCHE Executive Director Mary Okwakol, saying investigations are at an advanced stage.
“Let us finalise our investigations and everyone will know. We cannot share anything now until the investigations are complete,” Okwakol said.
New Vision said the probe followed a letter from the Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to Uganda’s Minister of Education and Sports Janet Museveni requesting the Ugandan government to investigate the matter.
The new development now deepens Sakaja’s woes, as the petitioner whose complaint was dismissed by IEBC on June 19 has appealed the matter at the High Court.
Dennis Wahome argues in his petition that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s dispute tribunal failed in its mandate to resolve the electoral dispute fairly. He insists Sakaja’s degree is forged.
The DRC while delivering its ruling said it lacked the mandate to ascertain the validity of Sakaja’s degree.
The senator has all through the fiasco maintained that his degree is authentic and was never obtained through dubious means.
He has blamed the State for advancing political vendetta against him in a bid to stop his political ambitions.
In an interview with KBC Wednesday night, Sakaja said the confusion surrounding the issue lends credence to his assertions that this is a State-sponsored attack.
“I pursued that programme and I have the qualifications to be the governor, and not just the qualifications but the will, the conviction and the passion,” Sakaja said.
He said he believes in the rule of law that is not open to interference by the state and exuded confidence that he will overcome the test.
“I have said it previously that it is actually the state that is pursuing this matter and I think many things they have done show you their hand.”
“For instance, if the CUE recognises and says everything is okay, and then they revoke what they have done and then they withdraw the revocation, you can tell that there is a lot of confusion,” Sakaja said.
“But I’m still confident to whatever level it gets to,” he added.
On June 18, the National Police Service opened investigations to determine the authenticity of Sakaja’s degree certificate and that of the Machakos gubernatorial candidate Wavinya Ndeti.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji later directed the police to extend the probe beyond governor hopefuls.
He asked IG Hillary Mutyambai to submit the report on the probe on July 1, 2022.
“Considering that we are working with tight electoral timelines, the resultant file should be submitted on or before 1st of July, 2022,” Haji said.
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