Sakaja maintains he will be on the ballot as Nairobi governor candidate

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja campaigning in Kasarani, Nairobi on June 7, 2022. [Esther Jeruto, Standard]

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of using his influence in Kenya and Uganda to frustrate his governorship bid.

The lawmaker has, however, not provided any evidence to support his claims.

Sakaja maintains that his bachelor’s degree from Team University in Uganda is credible.

Sakaja made the claims on his official Facebook page on Wednesday, June 15 after Kenya’s Commission for University Education revoked the recognition of his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

“The purported revocation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) chairman is politically instigated,” he said on Facebook.

He says the CUE conducted due diligence while approving his documents earlier, and he’s now shocked that the commission has rescinded its approval.

“The commission confirmed the authenticity of the qualification from Team University through the National Council for Higher Education (in Uganda) and thus recognised my qualifications. These are the documents that the Nairobi County Returning Officer used to clear me as per the law,” he said.

“Following this, Kenya’s entire State machinery has gone on an intimidation spree against institutions locally and in Uganda to revoke the recognition of my qualifications in a bid to stop me from being the Governor of Nairobi County,” said Sakaja.

Despite not giving any evidence supporting his claims, Sakaja vowed to be on the ballot in the August 9 General Election.

 “The desperate attempts by the so-called deep state will fall on the sword of justice. I have the requisite qualifications to vie for the position of Governor of Nairobi and will be on the ballot.”

Sakaja is running on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party ticket.

The petition on his university qualifications is awaiting determination by IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee.