The High Court has dismissed a case challenging Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja’s candidature over his academic papers.

This morning, Justice Anthony Mrima found that there was no proof that Sakaja had forged his degree from Team University in Uganda.

According to the judge, it was not for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to dig if Sakaja had genuine documents or not.

The judge affirmed the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee’s verdict that Dennis Wahome had not made a case to warrant the senator from being locked out of the Nairobi governorship contest.

 “There is no duty for the IEBC to verify the authenticity of the academic documents. IEBC does not have forensic tools to conduct such an analysis. The manner in which the complaint was presented and the quality of the evidence tendered by the petitioner will not create an inference of the criminal allegation made such that even if the respondent did not appear in the matter, the evidence would not stand,” said Justice Mrima.

The judge noted that Wahome’s case bordered fraud and therefore, he [Wahome] ought to have produced to the tribunal evidence beyond doubt that Sakaja had forged documents.

According to the judge, the petitioner instead relied on inadmissible evidence, including claims that none of the students in Team University knew him. 

The judge also noted that the degree issue is under investigation and there is no evidence to show that the senator has neither been charged nor convicted by a criminal court.