Former Kasipul MP Joseph Magwanga. He has dismissed claims that his degree papers are fake. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
4.April 2018
Former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga has defended the authenticity of his academic degree certificate.
Mr Magwanga, who unsuccessfully ran for Homa Bay governorship in the August 8, 2017 polls, argued that the High Court had cleared him over the allegations.
“It is not true that I have forged academic papers nor is the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) investigating me over the claims,” said Mr Magwanga who successfully filed a petition that led to the nullification of Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti’s election.
“I read malice in the timing of the matter, I had been cleared over claims of forgery,” he said on Tuesday.
Mr Magwanga was last year allowed to contest for Homa Bay governorship even after a voter, Mr George Okoth, moved to court to challenge the authenticity of his academic papers.
TIME BARRED
The court, however, dismissed the case on July 25, 2017, arguing it was time barred since it had been filed after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had already printed ballot papers featuring Magwanga’s name.
In his judgment, Justice Luka Kimaru also observed that the petitioner, being a registered voter in Nairobi County's Kibra Constituency, lacked a locus standi to petition against candidates in a different county.
“There is no doubt that any citizen has a right to seek the enforcement of the provisions of the Constitution and the Law irrespective of his area of residence. However, in electoral disputes, it is only a registered voter in a particular electoral area who has locus standi to challenge the elections of a particular candidate in that electoral area,” said the judge in his ruling.
INVESTIGATIONS
On Monday, the EACC said it would begin new investigations after inconsistencies were noticed in the former legislator’s fee payment schedule at the University of Nairobi.
Mr Magwanga, who had indicated he earned a University of Nairobi degree in 2015, had receipts showing that he paid fees for graduation ceremony in February 2016.
The former MP said the universities he attended gave him genuine certificates and it was upon those in doubt to check with the institutions.
Governorship candidates, under Kenyan law, must have a degree from recognised universities.
He claimed that the matter of fake degree papers was being propelled by his political opponents.
FORGERY
“I suspect that the matter of forgery has been engineered by those who were defeated in the Homa Bay gubernatorial contest,” said Mr Magwanga.
“These are schemes by my opponents to ensure that I am locked out of the Homa Bay gubernatorial by-election,” he said.
Mr Magwanga is alleged to have presented forged documents to the IEBC for clearance before the August 8, 2017 General Election.
EACC spokesman Yasin Amaro said investigations against the former lawmaker are almost complete.
If found guilty, Mr Magwanga could be charged with forgery and giving false information.
Homa Bay Governor Cyprian Awiti, whose victory was nullified by court, has since appealed the decision.
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