Director George Kinoti, who is now on an official tour to France in his position as a member of the Interpol Executive Committee, revealed to Capital FM News that the DCI had begun an inquiry into Sakaja’s credentials, but that the probe was still ongoing.
Kinoti’s declaration came only hours after the investigating agency tied Sakaja to an international criminal gang over the degree saga, which is now threatening to derail the ‘Super Senator”s ambitions to become Nairobi’s governor.
Even as the legitimacy of Sakaja’s degree remains a point of contention, the Nairobi gubernatorial candidate has blamed his difficulties on’state machinery,’ including President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom Sakaja claims is attempting to sabotage his candidacy for the country’s top job.
Despite the dispute regarding his degree certification, Sakaja has maintained that he would be on the ballot for the gubernatorial election in August.
Sakaja said on Facebook that his Team University degree is genuine and that the “purported cancellation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) chairman is null and invalid, and politically motivated.”
He further accused the Commission’s chairman of being forced and bullied into improperly revoking recognition of legitimately given accreditation.
“On June 6, I presented my credentials to the CUE for approval. “The commission began its due diligence by writing to its Ugandan counterpart, the National Council for Higher Education, which then wrote to the institution,” he explained.
He claimed that the commission verified the legitimacy of my Team University certificate through the National Council for Higher Education and consequently acknowledged my credentials.
“These are the documents utilized by the Nairobi County Returning Officer to clear me in accordance with the law.” Following this, President Uhuru Kenyatta and the entire State apparatus went on an intimidation campaign against institutions in Kenya and Uganda, attempting to remove recognition of my qualifications and prevent me from becoming the Governor of Nairobi,” he said.
Sakaja was granted a respite on Wednesday when the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) disregarded a letter from the Commission for University Education (CUE) that had revoked his degree certificate’s validity.
In its decision, the Commission’s Dispute Resolution Committee decided that Sakaja’s degree should be kept legitimate until the outcome of a substantive motion.
The electoral board was “prohibited from deleting Sakaja’s name off the list of cleared gubernatorial candidates for the Nairobi County seat” while the status quo remained.
The decision came as a welcome relief to the Nairobi Senator, who has set his eyes on succeeding current city governor Ann Kananu in the August election.
Three accusations filed against Sakaja, alleging that his university qualifications were invalid, were also dismissed.
The petitions were dismissed by the Dispute Tribunal after the three complainants who submitted them failed to appear before the panel.