Nairobi — Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has dared the Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti to go ahead and arrest him saying he does not lose sleep over the ongoing probe into the authenticity of his degree certificate.
Sakaja said Friday that threats and intimidation by the state will not deter him from going for the high-stakes Nairobi gubernatorial seat.
"Threats of arrest and persecution by the state will not intimidate us or change the will of the people of Nairobi. Our resolve remains firm. Bwana DCI Kinoti, I'm at my Riverside office, karibu or let me know if you'd like me to come over," Sakaja said in a statement posted on his official Facebook account.
The United Democratic Alliance-backed candidate maintained that his qualifications are legitimate noting that the institutions tasked with making decisions over his credentials had refused to play ball in what he has described as a political witch-hunt.
"Your office will not install a project on the people of Nairobi. My qualifications are legit, and the relevant institutions have refused to play along with your games. Let the people decide," Sakaja stated.
Sakaja was reacting to an announcement by the DCI that the agency had commenced a probe into the authenticity of Sakaja's degree certificate.
Kinoti, who was on an official visit to France in his capacity as INTERPOL Executive Committee member, confirmed to Capital News that the agency had opened investigations into Sakaja's credentials adding that they are yet to complete the investigations into the issue.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Kinoti's statement came a few hours after the investigative agency linked Sakaja to an international criminal syndicate over the degree saga that is now threatening to halt the dreams of the 'Super Senator' to ascend into the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.
Even as controversy continues to surround, the authenticity of Sakaja's degree issue, the Nairobi gubernatorial contender blamed his woes on 'state machinery' including President Uhuru Kenyatta whom Sakaja accused of working to frustrate his bid for the capital's top seat.
Sakaja has since maintained that he will be on the ballot for the gubernatorial race in August despite the controversy on his degree qualification.
Sakaja described what he termed as the "purported revocation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) Chairman as null and void, and politically instigated."
He also accused the Commission's Chairman of being coerced and intimidated to illegally revoke recognition of accreditation that has been properly issued.
"On June 6, I presented my qualifications to the CUE for recognition. The commission conducted due diligence by first writing to their counterpart in Uganda, National Council for Higher Education, which in turn wrote to the university," he said.
He stated that the commission confirmed the authenticity of the qualification from Team University through the National Council for Higher Education and thus recognized my qualifications.
