• The legislator said the controversy surrounding Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja's academic credentials is one of the ways the state is using to intimidate political leaders.
• Duale assured their supporters that Sakaja’s name will be on the ballot in August.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The criminal justice system in the country is being used by the state to harass leaders allied to Deputy President William Ruto, Garissa Township MP Aden Duale has said.
Speaking on Saturday, the legislator said the controversy surrounding Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja's academic credentials is one of the ways the state is using to intimidate political leaders.
“State organs are being used to intimidate, harass and coerce senator Sakaja. and I dare it that the actors within the criminal justice system have in the last four years been used to be partisan and to play political intimidation and to parade many leaders before court with no evidence because they were working at the whims of certain shed of the political divide,” Duale said.
He added: “I want to tell the leadership of the criminal justice system, the DCI, the IG, the DPP, the EACC and other institutions like the CUE that those who are in power have got 52 days to go. They should not violate the constitution.”
The Garissa Township MP stated that use of the criminal justice system for actions outside their mandate will be revisited once Kenya Kwanza assumes power.
Sakaja has been facing heat over the past few days after it emerged that he did not complete an Actuarial Science degree programme at the University of Nairobi where he is still listed as a student.
While seeking clearance from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to run for the governor seat in Nairobi, Sakaja presented a degree from Team University from Ugandan.
The degree had been approved by the Commission on University Education (CUE) but the agency later revoked its recognition and subsequently ordered Sakaja to present himself to the commission to provide proof that he studied at the institution.
According to Duale, however, the Nairobi senator has a valid degree and that there is more than meets the eye in the saga, pointing an accusing finger at actors within the criminal justice system targeting allies of the DP.
The former National Assembly majority leader assured their supporters that Sakaja’s name will be on the ballot and that the ultimate decision on who will be the governor of Nairobi lies with voters.
Sakaja blames his woes on President Uhuru Kenyatta, accusing him of using his influence in Kenya and Uganda to frustrate his gubernatorial bid.
“The purported revocation of my credentials by the Commission for University Education (CUE) chairman is null and void, and politically instigated,” he wrote on Facebook.
“The chairman, Prof Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha, has been coerced and intimidated by President Uhuru Kenyatta to illegally revoke recognition of accreditation that has been properly issued.”
Deputy President William Ruto has also waded into the controversy surrounding the academic qualifications of Sakaja, and described it as an assault on his Kenya Kwanza coalition candidate for Nairobi governor.