High Court Judge James Makau has dismissed a case by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC) questioning the academic qualifications of Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja.
In his ruling on Thursday, Justice Makau said the constitutional court lacks jurisdiction to handle the matter.
He avered that the anti-graft agency ought to have filed its case before an electoral court and not a constitutional court.
Governor Samboja has been under investigations by EACC for years now over questionable academic qualifications.
Read: Relief For Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja As Court Suspends Impeachment
In another case touching on the governor’s academic qualification, a voter, Armstrong Mwandoo Kiwoi, filed a petition challenging Samboja’s 2017 poll victory.
In the petition, the voter claimed that the governor uttered false documents from Kenyatta University, including a degree certificate.
Also sued was the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which the voter accused of accepting Samboja’s “fake” degree.
Read Also: Relief For Taita Taveta Governor Samboja As Senators Dismiss MCAs’ Impeachment Attempt
A degree certificate is one of the mandatory documents one is required to have before being cleared by IEBC to run for governor in Kenya.
Kenyatta University disowns Samboja’s certificate
As part of its investigations, EACC wrote to Kenyatta University requesting information on three certificates, including a diploma and degree that the governor claims he holds lawfully.
In its response, the university, through its legal officer Aaron Tanui, declared that the certificates were fake.
Tanui said despite the alleged forgery Samboja still tried to gain admission for masters of business administration studies in the same institution but was turned away.
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