Nairobi UDA governorship candidate Johnson Sakaja during the gubernatorial debate at CUEA. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]
The High Court has dismissed a case challenging Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s candidature over his academic papers.
This morning, Justice Anthony Mrima found that there was no proof that Sakaja had forged his degree from Team University in Uganda.
According to the judge, it was not for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to dig if Sakaja had genuine documents or not.
The judge affirmed the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee’s verdict that Dennis Wahome had not made a case to warrant the senator from being locked out of the Nairobi governorship contest.
READ MORE
Sakaja vows to restore sanity in Nairobi despite opposition
Dishi na County serving children a brighter future
“There is no duty for the IEBC to verify the authenticity of the academic documents. IEBC does not have forensic tools to conduct such an analysis. The manner in which the complaint was presented and the quality of the evidence tendered by the petitioner will not create an inference of the criminal allegation made such that even if the respondent did not appear in the matter, the evidence would not stand,” said Justice Mrima.
The judge noted that Wahome’s case bordered fraud and therefore, he [Wahome] ought to have produced to the tribunal evidence beyond doubt that Sakaja had forged documents.
According to the judge, the petitioner instead relied on inadmissible evidence, including claims that none of the students in Team University knew him.
The judge also noted that the degree issue is under investigation and there is no evidence to show that the senator has neither been charged nor convicted by a criminal court.
Justice Mrima however noted that there is a concern about how Kenyan courts have been handling claims of academic papers forgery. According to him, none of the cases filed through a civil process has succeeded.
Mrima was of the view that it is for the investigative agencies and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to crack a whip, this menace will continue.
“As I come to the end of this issue, I first express serious concern in the manner in which serious matters of forged academic documents are handled in this country. I say so noting that this is not the first time that such a case has come before the High Court courts and the High Court has declined to find a party accused of forging academic certificates culpable in none criminal proceedings.”
He continued: “The High Court has stated that such matters must be done carefully, investigations must be carried out and those found culpable charged. Once that happens, criminal convictions can be used to mount challenges like the one before this court. Where there is adequate culpability of a person obtaining an academic certificate contrary to the law, such a person should not be allowed to benefit from such illegalities.”
Justice Mrima noted that the number of people using forged documents in the country is on the increase.
“It is my hope and desire that this long-standing issue will, going forward, will receive appropriate action from the concerned parties,” he said.
In this case, Wahome’s lawyers Paul Nyamodi and Njoki Mboche argued that IEBC’s tribunal erred by shifting the burden to ascertain whether the graduation list provided by Sakaja was genuine or not.
According to Nyamodi, the tribunal ought to have taken Wahome’s list that did not have Sakaja and that which the senator provided and determined who between the two had a genuine document.
“The content of the graduation list is a contested fact because on page 75 is a graduation list that was submitted by the complainant that did not contain the name of the respondent. There was an obligation for the IEBC to make a finding on the contested fact,” said Nyamodi.
According to him, IEBC’s acceptance of Sakaja’s papers was a mockery of the electoral process as it ought to ensure only those who met the requirements set by the Constitution and Elections Act are on the ballot.
The judge heard that it was for Sakaja to explain why he never disclosed to Jubilee in 2017 that he had graduated a year earlier from Team University. Instead, Nyamodi argued, the senator declared he was a graduate of the University of Nairobi.
While responding to the claim, Sakaja’s lawyer Elias Mutuma argued that his client’s degree was similar to a polygamous man who comes to a feast with one of his many wives. According to him, it cannot be assumed that the polygamous man is monogamous simply because one wife accompanies him.
