Nairobi — The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has now poked holes into the academic qualifications of Azimio-One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
During an interview in Citizen TV Day break program, UDA secretary general Veronica Maina said there is need to relook into the authenticity of academic qualification of presidential candidates.
"You have seen a lot of headlines questioning the university that our biggest opponent, Raila Amolo Odinga, qualified from. It is a very big question which needs to be looked at, not through the lens of just one candidate, but a wider public question," Maina said.
The UDA secretary general also questioned the legitimacy of Roots Party Presidential aspirant George Wajackoyah posing whether his 17 degrees are genuine or whether they need to be relooked.
"The institutions that trained him should tell us whether he actually has 14 degrees or 7, and how many are recognized or not," she said.
"It is a bigger question of what qualifications should a politician have before they assume a public office, and it has been a subject of litigation," she said.
Her statement was in defence of Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Johnson Sakaja who is battling a legal case after his academic qualification were put under public scrutiny.
Sakaja has maintained that he has a degree from Teams University in Uganda, dismissing claims that he did not graduate.
Responding to a complaint before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) regarding the legality of his academic credentials, Sakaja accused the complainant of having deliberately omitted relevant pages of the graduation booklet that contained his name.
The complaint was lodged after claims that the Sakaja's was not among a list of Teams University graduates, given that a degree certificate is among requisite requirements for Governor candidates in Kenya.
"Among other qualifications and awards of excellence, I hold a Bachelor of Science in Management degree conferred upon me by Team University in Uganda, having satisfied the requirements of the award," Sakaja stated.
Sakaja said that Teams University is duly recognized in Uganda, and by extension in Kenya.
He also dismissed names used by the complainant (Johnson Koskei Sakaja) to refer to him, noting that his only name is Sakaja Johnson Arthur.
Sakaja further asked IEBC to dismiss the complaint as it was filed outside the prescribed timeliness.According Sakaja, the deadline for filing a dispute lapsed on June 8, 2022.
