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Deputy President William Ruto has waded into the controversy surrounding the academic qualifications of his ally, Johnson Sakaja, and described it as an assault on his Kenya Kwanza coalition.
The DP, who spoke in Gusii region on the second day of his visit, also claimed the academic credentials of his main rival in the August elections, Raila Odinga, are questionable.
Sakaja, the Nairobi senator, has been facing heat over the past few days after it emerged he did not complete an Actuarial Science degree programme at the University of Nairobi where he is still listed as a student.
While seeking clearance from the electoral commission to run for the governor seat in Nairobi, Sakaja presented a degree from a Ugandan university.
The degree had been approved by the Commission on University Education (CUE) but the agency later revoked its recognition of the degree.
DP Ruto, who considers Sakaja as key in his efforts to win over Nairobi voters believes the senator’s tribulations are politically-motivated.
He claimed the move was an effort to bar UDA from competing for the governor’s seat in the capital.
This came as the senator got a temporary reprieve after the High Court suspended CUE’s decision to revoke the recognition of his degree.
The drama started when a citizen moved to court seeking to block Sakaja’s candidature arguing the senator lacks the required academic qualifications to run for the seat of governor.
But while on his campaign trail in Nyamira and Kisii counties, Dr Ruto defended Sakaja saying those who sued him were only out to frustrate him hoping to block Kenya Kwanza from participating in Nairobi politics.
“Sakaja has legitimate academic papers. Leave Sakaja alone. The senator is a man of integrity. He has all the papers required for him to stand for the governor’s seat,” Ruto said.
The DP also questioned the credibility of Raila’s academic qualifications claiming they were fake.
“No one knows where he (Raila) went to school. His academic degrees are questionable and nobody knows whom he was with in class.
“Let it be known that if there is someone without certificates, then it must be the Azimio presidential candidate,” the DP claimed, while faulting Azimio members for Sakaja’s predicament.
The DP was accompanied on his tourn by Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, Nyamira governor candidates Walter Nyambati (UDA) and Joseph Kiangoi (ANC), senatorial contender Adams Mochenwa (DP), Woman Rep candidates Rebecca Thomas (ANC), Josephine Omanwa (UDA) and Alice Chae (Ford Kenya) among others.
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