New twist as investigators summon Joho over alleged fake papers

The controversy over the authenticity of Governor Hassan Ali Joho’s academic credentials deepened after he was summoned to record a statement with the CID.

 The Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) team is investigating the alleged forgery of his 1992 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).

A letter from Coast DCI Regional Coordinator Pius Macharia required Joho to appear before Assistant Inspector General of Police Samwel Nyambengi at the Mombasa DCI headquarters at 10am.

"I do hereby require you, Ali Hassan Joho, to personally appear before Mr Samuel O Nyambengi, an Assistant Inspector General of Police investigating the alleged offence on March 28, 2017, at 10 am at the regional DCI headquarters Mombasa for a statement recording relating to a forgery of a 1992 examination slip in your name which is subject to investigation," said the letter.

But Joho wrote back saying he would not be able to appear before the police because he was engaged.

"As explained to you, by the time of delivering the letter I had already scheduled activities for the following day, March 28, 2017. In view of this, I will not be in a position to appear in your office for the said statement," said Joho who requested that to appear tomorrow, March 29, 2017.

The governor later took to social media to castigate the police, saying the summons was part of intimidation by the Jubilee government.

"Intimidation continues... I will personally honour the summons on Wednesday at 10.30am. I will be vindicated once again and this will never deter me from pursuing the transformation agenda of my people," said Joho.

Earlier, the besieged governor had uncharacteristically refused to offer any explanation on the alleged fake papers, leaving the job to his communications department.

CERTIFICATE FORGED

Joho's office released a statement saying he was not "under obligation to respond to reports that his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) certificate was forged as alleged by a letter by Kenya National Examination Council".

Joho's office described reports that he had forged his certificate as...."piece of propaganda circulated by Jubilee" and added that "those who make allegations bear the duty to prove them".

Joho's spokesman Richard Chacha told The Standard that "State agencies involved and named in this saga i.e. the examination council, police and my former school should be able to release this information".

Chacha reasoned that even if Joho came out to give a statement and publish his documents, this would not end the controversy because "new ones will be manufactured to perpetuate the mischief for this appears to be an endless war".

The letter by the examination council dated January 26 addressed to DCI headquarters said a results slip bearing the name Hassan Ali Joho had turned out to be a forgery.

It said a Mr Joho Hassan Ali, who was the subject of a police probe, did not sit KCSE examination at Serani as reported in the result slip which indicated that the alleged candidate sat the examination in 1992 under Index number 160092024.

Knec said the results slip was a forgery because Serani Secondary School's code that year was 16032.

On Sunday, Chacha claimed the document was fake because "the governor sat his KCSE in 1993" and yesterday he added that "we are not in the dock as far as we are concerned and when the time comes to defend ourselves, we shall do so."

At his former school, some former students could remember him while others said they could not.

A grainy, coloured but undated photography also emerged showing someone resembling Joho in a student group photo.

Mr Musa Jumapili, who sat his KCSE at the school in 1994, said he could not remember the governor.

"From 1991 to 1994, I was a football player at the school. People say he (Joho) was a footballer at the school but I don't remember him at all," Jumapili told The Standard.

All the teachers we spoke with could also not remember him, or were unwilling to talk about it.

Our efforts to reach Mr Ali Mohamed, the principal at the institution in 1992 and 1993, was unsuccessful.

A man who sat his KCSE in 1993 expressed shock at claims that the governor did his final secondary education papers in 1992.

Juma Hamid, a clearing agent, said he sat his KCSE with Joho in 1993 and that claims to the contrary were invented.

"I joined Form One with Joho in 1990 and we completed Form Four together in 1993. I did not know what happened with Ali until I saw him doing clearing with his brother; that was when I recalled that we were in the same school with him," said Hamid.

He described Joho as an average, but jolly student.

"What I know about Joho is that he liked music and dancing. In fact, his behaviour has not changed from when he was a student," he said.

"I can still remember most of my classmates because "we were only 30 students in Form 1A," said Hamid.

Yesterday, a teacher who taught the Serani Form Four class in 1992 could not remember Joho. She declined to be named.

The school administration, on the other hand, was cagey when asked why the institution was not proud of a successful alumnus, saying the matter was 'sensitive'.

Deputy Principal Charo Fondo said he had no authority to speak to the press on administrative matters such as records of former students.

According to a set of documents circulated by some politicians, a candidate identified as Ali Hassan sat KCSE at Serani in 1993 and scored a grade D- (minus).