Education CS Fred Matiang’i has said that his ministry will work with IEBC in authenticating academic papers of political aspirants in the upcoming general elections.

The CS is expected to set up a team to oversee the vetting this week.

“We are going to put forth a team that will be available to you on a 24/7 basis to assist you to process whatever credentials you need to authenticate,” he said.

Matiang’i maintained that only candidates with authentic academic papers will be allowed to contest in the August elections, adding that those found with fake papers will face the law accordingly.

“And where we find documents that are not genuine, we shall not only tell you that they are fake but we will immediately also liaise with the Criminal Investigations Department because those people who will be presenting them are essentially fraudulent.”

Candidates running for president, deputy president, governor and deputy governor must have a university degree, which is the highest requisite academic qualification for any elective post as stipulated in the constitution.

KNEC Says Governor Joho Academic Papers Fake

The Kenya national examinations council (KNEC) has said that the KCSE certificate of Mombasa governor Hassan Joho is fake.

According to KNEC’s acting chief executive, Ms. Mercy Gathigia Karogo, in a letter to the Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro, the copy of the governor’s results slip presented to the council for authentication was obtained from a forged document.

“Following your request for verification and confirmation of examination results Joho Hassan Ali results slip as per the letter referenced CID/SEC/4/4/3 dated 25th January, 2017… Joho Hassan Ali did not register nor sat for the year 1992 KCSE examination at Serani Secondary School under index number 160092024,” said Ms. Karogo.

Joho’s academic qualifications have been publicly questioned by his opponents since he was elected governor in 2013 but he has maintained that he holds a degree from Kampala University and another in Commerce from Gretsa University.

The KCSE certificate is the requisite academic paper for enrolling in the university, having met the essential grade so if Joho’s Form Four certificate is forged, as KNEC claims, then it would render his degrees invalid and probably lock him out of the upcoming elections.

His opposition counterparts have however lashed out to the government for trying to intimidate the governor through all means as he’s become a headache to the ruling elite.