Wavinya Ndeti defends self in 'questionable' degree petition

Machakos Governor candidate Wavinya Ndeti. [File, Standard]

Machakos gubernatorial candidate Wavinya Ndeti says she holds a valid bachelor’s degree, and that the petitioners who claim she lacks tertiary education is bent on misleading the country.

Ndeti’s academic credentials were disputed before the IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee by two Machakos County voters identified as Gideon Ngewa Kenya and Kisilu Mutisya.

The petitioners argued that the aspirant presented different degrees to the IEBC for clearance in the 2013 and 2017 elections.

In her affidavit filed on June 13, Ndeti said there were consistencies in both her 2013 and 2017 applications.

“During the 2013 and 2017 general elections, I presented the above credentials and I was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to vie for the gubernatorial seat for Machakos County,” she said in her affidavit.

“The Commission for University Education (CUE) has certified my certificates and qualifications through letters dated May 25, 2022.”

The aspirant further says the IEBC’s Dispute Resolution Committee lacks jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter.

According to her, the same application is pending before the National Election Appeals Board and was filed by the same petitioners.

“The application is a gross abuse of due process of the electoral law and a waste of litigants’ and the committee’s time and resources,” she said.

Gideon Ngewa Kenya and Kisilu Mutisya claim that Ndeti does not have a university degree.

“Ndeti is not a holder of a degree recognised in Kenya. On November 6, 1992, she was purportedly awarded a Master’s Degree in Business Systems Analysis and Design by the City University, London without having undertaken the first degree," said the complainants.

"Undertaking a degree after being awarded a Master’s in a closely-related subject is equally problematic. The degree in Computing Studies awarded by South Bank University to Ms Ndeti raises a number of issues," the petitioners said.

Determination on the matter will be made on Saturday, June 18.