It wasn’t surprising that Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi found himself in trouble over forged academic credentials.
But the big question is why it took this long to nab him — and only him. If Kenyans were predisposed to telling the truth as whistle-blowers, they would get many politicians who have forged their academic documents. There are many of them sitting in the county assemblies, Parliament, Senate and others elected as governors.
For decades, academic credentials from the discredited Kenya National Examinations Council were prone to forgery. The most coveted was the form four certificate known then as the EACE and now the KCSE.
Cheats would steal another person’s certificate and acquire an ID with the name on the certificate, or at least one aspect of the same, say the surname or the first name. When caught, they would own all the names, alleging there was a confusion with the names at their tender age. Consequently, there were many cases in court on identity theft.
Years later, the fraud is yet to end. In any case, it is on the rise. The 2010 Constitution and subsequent electoral laws have put emphasis on academic credentials to improve debate, oversight and lawmaking. This is a degree requirement from a recognised university for MPs and a KCSE for MCAs. The idea was to match the intellectual capacity of legislators to that of the Executive’s officials. The latter appointments demand higher academic qualifications and without matching prowess, the Executive would steamroll Parliament, especially in oversight.
Unfortunately, the 10th Parliament lowered academic requirements for politicians. Although a Cabinet Secretary is required to have a university degree, it is not the same case for majority and minority leaders in Parliament.
The shield against academic qualifications for elected leaders has resulted in dunderheads getting into leadership positions. This is the main reason the oversight role is a ritual for rent-seekers. MPs and MCAs are unable to match the skilled theft by members of the Executive. Many are wondering why politicians are rushing to acquire certificates and degrees. The rush is not even for prospects of seeking office. It is deliberately to obliterate the need to investigate the fake certificates they hold.
A politician who holds a fraudulent certificate today will not present the same in 2017. They will have new and higher certificates from the flourishing middle-level colleges and universities.
They enrolled and attended classes yes, but whatever is taught gets in through one ear and promptly exits through the other. They then turned to the safety net of the proliferating assignment writing kiosks. Using financial muscle, these politicians can pay for classwork, research and dissertation writing done for them at a fee. Lecturers could be part of this deal, otherwise they will be intimidated by their power and favours they may be given to play blind. Money power rules the roost here. As a result, the dunderheads of 2013 will be on the ballot in 2017 as certificate or degree holders.The problem is that the IEBC will not be any the wiser. This is why the Sudi case, just like Governor Hassan Joho’s and many others condemns the electoral agency more than the candidates themselves.
You then wonder whether IEBC has the capacity to identify a fraudulent certificate.
And worse, the Commission on Higher Education that is the reference point. All the IEBC needed to do was to enquire from the CHE the credibility of the papers. Intriguingly, these are the papers now in contention in courts. Yet again, no attempt has been made to strengthen this capacity to detect fraud under recent amendments to electoral laws.