Kiminini MP Didmus Wekesa Barasa Thursday hit back at allegations questioning his academic credentials.
The legislator declared that he had attained a PhD and challenged his critics to undertake their own research rather than engage in what he termed political gossip.
In a strongly worded response directed at an activist Stephen Mutoro and others who have been questioning his academic journey, Barasa announced that he was now “the new doctor in town”.
“For the avoidance of doubt on academic etiquette, my name is never styled as ‘Dr. Didmus Barasa, PhD’,” he said, arguing that his title should be rendered either as Didmus Wekesa Barasa, PhD, or Dr. Didmus Barasa.
Barasa said his doctoral studies were driven by what he described as a significant research gap concerning Bungoma County’s socio-economic challenges.
“A PhD is not merely the title of an academic programme; it is the scholarly response to an identified research gap,” he said.
He claimed that while his critics were preoccupied with questions about his academic credentials, he was conducting research aimed at developing solutions to socio-economic challenges facing Bungoma.
The MP then turned his response into a political challenge, offering Mutoro and his colleagues what he sarcastically described as a “free research topic”.
He challenged them to investigate why, according to him, political figures who have broken away from ODM and UDA have registered political parties, while Trans-Nzoia Governor George Natembeya’s TAWE movement does not have one.
“Why is it that all breakaway ODM and UDA leaders have duly registered political parties, yet the leader of the TAWE Movement, H.E. George Natembeya, does not have one?” he posed.
Barasa cited Caleb Hamisi, Ndindi Nyoro and Babu Owino as politicians who, he said, have established or lead political parties.
He argued that the question surrounding TAWE’s political status represented a potential research subject for his critics.
“That research gap alone is sufficient to earn you all Doctorates,” he said.
The exchange comes amid scrutiny of the academic credentials of Kenyan politicians, with questions over qualifications often becoming politically charged, particularly when politicians seek public office or senior positions.
Barasa, who is also a senior political figure in the Kenya Kwanza camp.
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