Jubilee raises red flag over aspirants using fake papers in nominations

Jubilee Disciplinary Committee Chairman Muchai Lumatete (left) and party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju leave after a press conference in Nairobi. [David Njaagi, Standard]

The Jubilee Party says it has received complaints about the authenticity of the academic papers of some of its aspirants and vowed to ensure that those providing fake documents are locked out of the party primaries.

Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju yesterday said the credentials of some of the aspirants had been placed in question as he announced that the party would hold its nominations on April 21.

Mr Tuju cautioned those who have presented fake academic credentials to cheat their way to the ballot that their papers would be scrutinised by the National Election Board in good time to ensure that the party is not locked out of the General Election if it is later discovered that the documents are not authentic.

Aspirants challenged

He could not, however, confirm the number and details of the aspirants whose papers were in question, only saying that some had been challenged by lawyers acting on behalf of competing aspirants, while others were doing so on behalf of party members.

“We would not want a situation where the party could be locked out of the elections because an aspirant cheated by providing us with fake documents. We have received complaints, some written by lawyers, and we have forwarded them to the election board to probe their authenticity,” said Tuju.

He warned aspirants that even if they manage to take part in the nominations using the fake documents, they ran the risk of being detected at a higher level as the concerned agencies had formed a committee to look into issues of integrity, including the authenticity of academic documents.

He said the Kenya National Examinations Council was part of the national committee.

“We are asking the aspirants to make a solemn pledge when returning the required documents to ensure that they are held responsible if found to have provided wrong information,” he said.

Tuju also announced the appointment of former Judicial Service Commission member Winnie Guchu as the party’s Executive Director.

The Jubilee Party headquarters was a hive of activity yesterday as aspirants rushed to meet the deadline to verify their details before they are sent overseas for the printing of the nomination ballots.

The party appeared to have given up on the use of the smart cards for its nominations, with Tuju saying that the 7.5 million members who are recorded as registered include those who had been enlisted in the defunct constituent parties that folded to form Jubilee.

Embu Governor Martin Wambora, who was among the aspirants at the party headquarters, lauded the verification process, saying it gave candidates a chance to ensure that their details are captured correctly before the ballot papers are printed.