Uganda Judiciary has halted investigations into the academic qualifications of Nairobi gubernatorial hopeful candidate Johnson Sakaja.
This was after Team University, from which Sakaja claimed he had obtained a degree, moved to court seeking orders prohibiting the Ugandan government from investigating the matter.
This forced the High Court yesterday to issue interim orders restraining the Ugandan government from investigating the qualification awarded to Sakaja by the institution.
Two cases had been filed by the Kampala-based University, which is already the subject of an inquiry by the Ugandan Council for Higher Education (NCHE).
Sakaja’s degree’s authenticity is also being questioned in Kenya.
The Institution had asked Justice Jamson Karemani of the High Court in Kampala to stop the NCHE from investigating the degree.
Sakaja’s degree in Uganda is being probed by two institutions, the Inspectorate of government and the National Council for Higher Education.
In Kenya, the governor hopeful’s political life is on the line.
This is after a registered voter dragged him to court seeking to block the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from printing Nairobi gubernatorial ballot papers until the case is heard and determined.
On Monday, Sakaja urged the High Court to strike out a petition seeking to have him disqualified from the race.
Justice Mrima has set Friday, July 8, as the judgment date.
Sakaja’s lawyers have since dismissed claims by petitioner Dennis Gakuru Wahome that Sakaja does not possess a university degree as required by law.
Wahome had asked High Court judge Antony Mrima to stop the IEBC from printing ballot papers for the Nairobi governor’s race until his petition is determined.
The judge declined the application.
Wahome’s lawyers led by Paul Nyamodi informed the court the degree certificate that Sakaja purportedly holds has been revoked by the Commission on University Education (CUE).
In his affidavit, Wahome had said the IEBC dispute resolution committee had dismissed his evidence that the Team University degree had been revoked by CUE.
Nyamodi said Sakaja was aware of the commission’s decision to revoke his degree certificate and that the dispute resolution committee acted unfairly in disregarding the evidence.
It is a requirement for one to possess a Bachelor’s degree for one to be a governor in Kenya.