Court Rules Candidates Do Not Need a University Degree to Run for Kenyan Presidency

The High Court in Nairobi has declared that a degree certificate is not a requirement for presidential candidates.

Justice Anthony Mrima made the ruling on Tuesday in a petition filed by former presidential aspirant Nazlin Umar Rajput, who was disqualified from the 2022 contest due to lack of a degree.

Rajput argued her case based on the decision in Petition No. 28 of 2020 consolidated with others that the educational qualifications for a presidential contender are the same as those of a Member of Parliament.

She sought orders restraining the electoral commission from requiring or demanding a degree qualification from her, or any other Kenyan vying for the presidency.

Justice Mrima noted that Section 22(2) of the Elections Act is unconstitutional for mandatorily demanding that presidential candidates must possess a university degree as long as the decision to remove the requirement for MPs stands.

Last year, the High Court nullified the section of the Election Act that requires Members of Parliament to have a degree.

“If the decision in Wambui & 10 Others v Speaker of the National Assembly & 6 others case continues to hold and a provision requiring Members of Parliament to possess university degrees is enacted within the confines of the Constitution and the law, then, and until then, Section 22(2) of the Elections Act as relating to the presidential qualifications will be in line with Article 137(1)(b) of the Constitution,” judge Mrima noted.

He added: “However, before then, Section 22(2) of the Elections cannot stand in so far as the eligibility criterion for a presidential candidate is concerned.”