Education Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha has proposed verification of all the degrees in a bid to flush out fake academic papers.
Speaking on Wednesday at Koderobara Secondary School while inspecting the construction of Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) classes, the CS accused Fake degree holders of politicizing the issue.
The CS warned against politicizing the issue, noting that it should be handled professionally. At the same time, he urged those seeking political offices to follow the right channels to get papers and shun shortcuts.
“No Judge can give you a degree, not even the Independent and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). A degree must come from a university,’’ the CS noted.
His remarks come hours after the Commission for University Education (CUE) withdrew the letter revoking recognition of Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s Degree from Team University in Uganda.
CUE in its reply to Sakaja’s case stated that it had reversed its decision but clarified that investigations on the authenticity of his academic papers are still pending. CUE chairperson Chacha Nyaigotti revealed that the commission received several complaints that Sakaja presented a forged degree. He urged the court to allow the commission to complete the investigations on the case.
“The substratum of this suit, being the letter dated June 14, 2022, for which review is sought, is hereby withdrawn pending further investigations by the respondent, which investigations are currently ongoing,” The commission’s chairperson Prof. Chacha Nyaigotti said.
Sakaja accused CUE of revoking the degree for political purposes and filed an application to have Nyaiggoti arrested. On Wednesday, Justice Ngaah asked CUE and Sakaja to solve the issue outside the court corridors.
The case of fake degrees among political aspirants has seen some of them barred from contesting for various seats in the coming polls. Among those caught up in this degree scandal is Safina party presidential aspirant Jimmy Wanjigi, Machakos gubernatorial aspirant Wavinya Ndeti, Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa, and Umoja Summit Party presidential aspirant Walter ‘Nyambane’ Mong’are.