Sakaja back in court to stop IEBC from acting on letter quashing degree

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja follows proceedings at a Milmani court on Monday, July 04, 2022, during the hearing of his degree case. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has filed a fresh case seeking to block Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from locking him out of the ballot.

Sakaja in his case claimed that the Commission of University Education (CUE) revoked its recognition for his degree from Team University Uganda out of ulterior motives.

According to his lawyer Elias Mutuma, the Commission had initially indicated it had withdrawn its first letter, only for it to write a second one. He claimed that this is a witch-hunt and is unfair as his client has a legitimate expectation that he will vie for Nairobi Governorship.

Mr Sakaja said the CUE is hell bent on interfering with the election, and that the challenge of the validity of his academic qualifications were calculated to subject him to public humiliation and embarrassment.

“It indication is that the respondent herein has been driven by ulterior motives acting at the behest of my political competitors keen on usurping the sovereign power of the residents of Nairobi county to exercise their democratic right under Article 38 to elect their Governor of choice in a democratic process,” said Mr Sakaja. 

"He seeks to achieve this by placing unreasonable restrictions against my candidature through institution of frivolous suits both at the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee and in this very instant petitions,” he added.

According to Mr Sakaja, it is easy to unmask the scheme behind the challenge of his academic papers. He claimed the CUE got a confirmation from Uganda that he had a legitimate degree.

This comes as Team University also sued Ugandan authorities from investigating the degree saga. Here in Kenya, Sakaja has filed two cases, one before the Judicial Review and now the latest one.

In his 95-page affidavit, he argued in the new case that the CUE does not have any power to interfere with the election process. 

“The decisions by the respondent are based on mere assertions and allegations and not on sound basis nor have they been made in accordance to any credible evidence,” he said. 

He wants the court to bar IEBC from acting on the CUE letter. At the same time, he wants the court to quash the second CUE letter.