Varsity flags Eldoret City Board nominee's degree as fake

Nominee for chairman of the Eldoret City Board Julius Kitur. [Courtesy, Uasin Gishu County Website]

The nominee for chairman of the Eldoret City Board, Julius Kitur, is on the spot after Moi University claimed that he had presented a fake degree to the Uasin Gishu County Public Service Board and an assembly committee.

The university confirmed on Wednesday that a Bachelor's degree in Business Management presented by Kitur as part of his academic credentials was not issued by the institution.

The confirmation by Moi University's office of academic affairs came just hours after Kitur was vetted by Uasin Gishu County Assembly's Committee on Appointments.

During the vetting, Kitur told the assembly committee that he enrolled at the Moi University for a Bachelor of Business Management - Human Resource Management option and graduated in 2011 with a second class upper division.

But a letter from the institution addressed to the Clerk of Uasin Gishu County Assembly stated that Kitur's degree was not authentic, triggering questions on his integrity.

"This is to confirm that the copy of certificate for the above-named (Julius Kimeli Kitur) submitted for verification is not authentic and was not issued by Moi University," the Deputy Vice Chancellor said in the letter to the county assembly.

Kitur, who served as chairman of the defunct Eldoret Municipality board for more than five years, told the assembly committee that he also had a postgraduate diploma in technology and correctional services management.

The nominee had also told the county assembly committee that he had a diploma in public relations.

He was among six individuals nominated for the new city's board membership early in September.

Kitur was specifically nominated for the board's chairmanship after a controversial county public service board interview, which was challenged in court a month ago.

A resident, Moses Kibor, challenged the entire process of nominating Kitur and the five others as members of the newly created board and wants the court to declare it illegal and unconstitutional.

Ruth Limo, Alice Kositany, David Maiz, Paul Chemuttut, and Sammy Bor were named as members of the city board in nominations.

According to Kibor, the process, from advertisement to the interviews by Uasin Gishu County Public Service Board and nomination by Governor Jonathan Bii, was a sham.

In a petition filed on September 17, Kibor prayed for orders to restrain Uasin Gishu County Assembly from vetting the nominees and the executive from swearing them in.