The High Court has allowed parties to withdraw a case challenging the academic papers of Garissa Governor Ali Korane.
The case was withdrawn on December 10 before justice James Makau of the Constitutional Court after the parties recorded consent for withdrawal of the main application.
In the case, Mukhtar Bare had filed a petition before the High Court seeking to declare the Garissa governor’s seat vacant.
He argued that Korane presented fake academic papers to be cleared for the gubernatorial race, thereby violating the Constitution.
The judge had also allowed Garissa Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane to enjoin as an interested party, saying his application had merit.
Dagane had filed an application under a certificate of urgency, arguing that as the deputy governor he would be affected by the outcome of the petition.
This was after the IEBC opposed his application, saying it was only Korane’s documents that were being challenged in court and not his. “It is imperative and in the interest of justice that the court should hear and determine this application before any other proceedings are undertaken in this petition,” Dagane said.
The Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission commenced investigations against Korane over his academic qualifications after Bare filed a petition.
In a sworn affidavit, EACC investigator Kevin Lang’at had said that preliminary investigations showed that Korane, while seeking clearance to vie for Garissa governor in 2012 and 2017, he had filed a self-declaration form indicating that he possessed a master’s degree from the University of Nairobi.
The officer further said Korane later submitted to the IEBC a copy of the self-declaration form, which he had presented to the EACC in 2017.
“A close analysis to some pages in the self-declaration form presented to the IEBC reveals that the information was altered,” the investigator had said.
According to the documents, the University of Nairobi in a letter dated August 20, 2018, denied issuing the MBA degree certificate to Governor Korane and that his name did not appear in any graduation booklet.
Bare, through lawyer Charles Kanjama, said Korane had violated the Leadership and Integrity Act.
