A lobby group has written to Uganda’s Minister of Education Janet Museveni seeking clarity on the validity of Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s university degree.
Sakaja alleges that he graduated in October 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Management Degree from Kampala-based university, Team.
In a letter dated June 14, to Janet who is also President Yoweri Museveni’s wife, Youth Advocacy Africa says that the certificate held by Sakaja was unlawfully issued.
“The degree awarded to Sakaja is not honorary but an academic degree purportedly awarded after successful completion of coursework and other instructions for the award of the same,” the advocacy group said in the letter dated June 14.
“From the available Immigration services information in Kenya, Sakaja has only travelled to Uganda once, which was on October 17, 2014, and the visit was for parliamentary business, not for educational purposes,” the group said.
Through Lawyer Waithaka Ngaruiya, the lobby group further warned Team University to provide a detailed explanation of the contradictions surrounding Sakaja’s papers.
The senator was also a Bachelor of Actuarial Science student at the University of Nairobi but it’s not clear whether he completed the course. He joined the university in 2003.
He is eyeing the Nairobi governorship in the August 9 General Election. It is mandatory that any person seeking the seat must be a holder of at least a bachelor’s degree.
A petitioner, Dennis Wahome, filed a case before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) Dispute Resolution Committee challenging Sakaja’s clearance to run for Nairobi governorship on UDA, saying there is no evidence that he’s a degree holder.
However, the Senator said those alleging he never studied at Team University in Uganda left out a page showing his name on the graduation list.