Sakaja claimed it was part of desperate attempts by President Uhuru Kenyatta and the deep state to frustrate him.
• “The people of Nairobi have resoundingly rejected your project and are looking forward to electing their own,” Sakaja said.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja
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JOHNSON SAKAJA/TWITTER
Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja has rubbished the letter by the Commission for University Education revoking his Team University degree.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sakaja claimed it was part of desperate attempts by President Uhuru Kenyatta and the deep state to frustrate him.
He insisted that he has the required academic qualifications and must be on the ballot.
“To President Kenyatta, I say: Let the people decide. Not even the threats to arrest me will dim our resolve to serve the people of Nairobi. The people of Nairobi have resoundingly rejected your project and are looking forward to electing their own,” Sakaja said.
“I remain committed and confident that a new dawn for our capital is beckoning, a city of order and dignity; hope and opportunity for all. We shall not be cowed. We will prevail.”
Sakaja who had been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission before petitions were filed challenging his eligibility said the revocation by CUE was politically motivated.
He added that he presented for verification on June 6, which the commission did in collaboration with their Ugandan counterparts, National Council for Higher Education.
“The purported revocation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) chairman is null and void, and politically instigated. The chairman, Prof Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, has been coerced and intimidated by President Uhuru Kenyatta to illegally revoke recognition of accreditation that has been properly issued,” the senator said.
He went on to share documents of the same on his social media pages.
“Following this, President Uhuru Kenyatta and the entire State machinery have 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.”
On Wednesday, CUE revoked recognition of Senator Sakaja’s degree.
A letter from the Commission dated June 14, said it had received material information about the authenticity of the Bachelor of Science in Management degree and will further investigate to ascertain its validity.
“Consequently, in accordance with the CUE recognition procedures, we hereby revoke the recognition of your degree from the aforementioned university,” CUE chairman Chacha Nyaigoti Chacha said.
The commission had on June 6 written to the senator confirming the recognition of the certificate.
The credibility of Sakaja’s degree from the Team University has been brought to question by four people who claim it was forged.
The matter came up soon after Sakaja was cleared by the IEBC on June 7 to contest for the Nairobi governor seat on a UDA ticket.
One of the complainants, Dennis Wahome, claims in an affidavit to IEBC that Sakaja never studied or graduated from the Team University.
He claimed that Sakaja’s Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Team University was printed on May 29, 2022.
Wahome further said Sakaja never graduated from the University on October 21, 2016, as he claimed since his name is not on the university’s graduation list.
