Wajir Governor Mohamed Abdi’s fight to retain his seat has been dealt a blow after Kampala University disowned his degree.
In court papers filed at the Kenya’s Supreme Court on Friday, the Ugandan university said the Governor was never admitted nor graduated from the institution in 2012 as he claims.
The Apex Court allowed Abdi to table his academic certificates after successfully convincing the court that he was never given a fair trial when both the Appeals and the High Court nullified his election over lack of a genuine degree.
“It is on this breadth that we must consider whether the appellant’s right to a fair hearing and trial will be infringed upon by the denial of admission of new evidence,” the judges said.
Consequently, Abdi tabled papers to prove that he was admitted to Kampala University in 2009 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business and management studies.
He also tabled evidence proving that he obtained a postgraduate degree from the same institution and attached a list of students who graduated with him in 2012.
In court papers however, Kampala University Registrar John Onyango Orinda said the institution admitted 196 students in 2009 but Abdi was not among them.
The Registrar further noted that it was impossible for Abdi to enroll for master’s program yet he graduated with a second class lower division in the undergraduate level, without the two-year work experience.
This development is likely to complicate his appeal pending before the Supreme Court. He moved to the Supreme Court after two lower courts invalidated his election.
