Ruto's UDA Party Calls for a Scrutiny of Raila's Academic Qualifications

Deputy President William Ruto-led UDA party has called for a scrutiny of Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga’s academic qualifications.

UDA secretary-general Veronica Maina says there is a need to look into the authenticity of the academic credentials of Odinga and other 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 on Citizen TV's Day Break program on Tuesday.

She similarly questioned Roots Party Presidential candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah’s alleged 17 degrees, saying they should be double-checked to ascertain whether they are genuine.

“The institutions that trained him should tell us whether he actually has 14 degrees or 7, and how many are recognized or not. 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 added.

Maina’s statement was in defense of the UDA Nairobi gubernatorial candidate Senator Johnson Sakaja whose academic qualifications have been put under public scrutiny.

Four petitioners filed a complaint before the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee seeking to have Sakaja disqualified from the Nairobi gubernatorial race for lacking the requisite academic qualifications.

In his response to the petition, Sakaja insisted that he attended and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Management degree from Teams University in Uganda in 2016.

“That 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 for the award,” Sakaja said in a replying affidavit.

“The Complainants’ wild allegations to the effect that I did not graduate from Team University are factually hollow and unfounded. For nefarious goals, the Complainants have fraudulently omitted relevant pages of the graduation booklet that bear my graduation credentials.”