IEBC Tribunal Clears Senator Sakaja to Run for Nairobi Governor

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has been cleared to run for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat in the August 9th general elections.

This comes after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Disputes Resolution Committee on Sunday dismissed a complaint seeking to have him disqualified from the city governorship race over questionable academic credentials.

While dismissing the case lodged by Dennis Gakuu, the committee ruled that it lacks jurisdiction to determine the validity of Sakaja's degree certificate.

" This committee lacks the jurisdiction to investigate the authenticity of the degree of Sakaja. We, therefore, dismiss the complaint," the tribunal ruled.

"The IEBC lacks tools to investigate and undertake inquiries into the validity and legitimacy of academic certificates and credentials supplied to it by various political candidates but merely acts in trust on the face value of the documents.”

In his petition, Gakuu argued that Sakaja's Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Team University in Uganda is not genuine as he never graduated from the institution in 2016 as he claims.

"Sakaja cannot be cleared to view based on a forged degree certificate and is therefore liable for criminal Prosecution for forgery and fraudulent misrepresentation," Gakuu submitted.

Gakuu added that only six students graduated with a Bachelor's degree in science in management on October 21st, 2016, and Sakaja was not among the graduands.