Wiper Party Machakos governor seat candidate Wavinya Ndeti Sunday got reprieve after IEBC dismissed a petition that questioned the validity of her degree.
The commission's Dispute Resolution Committee said it lacks jurisdiction to ascertain the authenticity of the degree.
"Taking into consideration the subject complaints, cognizant of the evidence of the respective parties and the applicable law, the committee hereby holds and finds as follows.
"The committee lacks jurisdiction to determine the instant complaint. The returning officer discharged his mandate in accordance with the law. The instant complaint lacks merit. The complaint be and is hereby dismissed with no orders," the committee ruled.
Two Machakos voters, Gideon Ngewa and Kisilu Mutisya wanted the committee to revoke Ndeti’s clearance claiming she is not qualified to vie for the seat of governor.
They had alleged that her academic certificates are questionable and inconsistent as there is no record of her ever registering in the UK.
Ndeti holds a Masters degree in Business systems analysis and design from the City University, London awarded on November 6, 1992.
She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computing Studies from South Bank University London awarded on July 18, 1995.
The voters questioned in their petition how the former Transport CAS managed to acquire a Masters degree without having undertaken a first degree.
"I really thank God, they just wanted to waste my time,” Ndeti said after the verdict was delivered.
On Thursday last week, Ndeti shared a letter from London South Bank University confirming she is their alumna.
"We hope that this will adequately dispel the baseless propaganda being peddled by our clumsy competitors and silence naysayers," she said in a Facebook post that she later deleted.
The letter indicated that she pursued a computer science degree from September 1994 to July 1995, a period of only 10 months.
The verdict by the IEBC tribunal may, however, be temporary reprieve for Ndeti as the DCI has been directed to probe all cases on the validity of academic credentials of aspirants.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji on Saturday directed the Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to submit the report on the investigations by July 1, 2022.
