A petition has been filed before the High Court in Nairobi seeking orders restraining the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from clearing Senator Cleophas Malala to contest for the Kakamega gubernatorial seat in the August polls.
Documents filed before Milimani High Court at the Constitutional and Human Rights Division by one Fred Muka wants Malala disqualified from the polls because of a lack of requisite education.
"Pending the hearing and determination of this application, the court be pleased to issue orders restraining IEBC from entertaining, considering, processing, evaluating, clearing and registering Malala as the gubernatorial candidate for Kakamega county ahead of the general elections for August 9, 2022," the court papers read in part.
Through lawyer Duncan Okatch, Muka argues that Senator Malala does not meet the qualifications to vie for Governor seat as he does not hold a degree as required under the Constitution and the Election Act.
Muka cites Section 22 (2) of the Election Act which states that "for a person to be validly nominated and thereafter cleared by the electoral commission to vie for the position of the Governor, he or she must be a holder of a degree certificate from an institution duly recognized in Kenya."
The petitioner now wants court to bar Malala from being cleared on grounds that the validity and legitimacy of his academic papers including a degree from USIU and Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education from Friends Schools Kamusinga are in dispute.
Muka says that unless the court urgently intervenes and grants the orders sought, there is an imminent risk of IEBC clearing Senator Malala.
"Unless the court intervenes and grants the orders sought, there is an imminent risk that a false expectation will be created in minds of registered voters in Kakamega county that Malala is eligible to vie yet he is not and the same may spark public anxiety and outrage," the petitioner says.
According to the court papers, Muka says the KCSE and university certificates which were posted by a friend from Kamusinga High School on social media are marred with irregularities and inconsistency.
"While Malala alleges that he graduated in 2011, his degree certificate was printed and issued to him on August 10, 2019. This is eight years after the purported graduation yet ordinarily the date on a degree certificate is the day a person graduates from an institution, " Muka informs the court.
He further says that the graduation list of United States International University (USIU) for the year 2011 shows that Senator Malala did not feature among the graduands for Bachelor of Science in Information System and Technology nor did his name feature in the graduation list of 2019.
"Malala's KCSE certificate displays a different KNEC code from the official code issued to Friends School Kamusinga by Kenya National Examination Council, " Muka states in his court papers.
USIU, KNEC, IEBC, EACC and DCI have been named as respondents in the case.
The petitioner is also seeking orders compelling respondents to avail necessary documentation and records in support of Malala's KCSE and degree certificates.
The academic certificates were made public by Malala on May 27 this year in a bid to quash doubts as to whether he is fit to run for the county's gubernatorial bid in the forthcoming polls.
Malala has since disputed reports that he forged his certificates, noting he was called to Moi University in Eldoret via the Joints Admissions Board after scoring a mean grade of B plain at Friends Schools Kamusinga.
Malala has revealed that he was admitted to study law but his father transferred him to United States International University (USIU) over fears of the friends he had at the Eldoret based university.
“In 2004, I was at Moi University. The Joint Admissions Board (JAB) admitted me as a law student. My father did not like my company in the university hence he transferred me to USIU where my siblings were studying," he stated.
The senator is seeking the Governor's seat on an ANC party ticket and he's facing competition from ODM's Fernandes Barasa who has now teamed up with Lugari MP Ayub Savula in a bid to dwarf his ambitions.
