Classic 105 presenter and businessman Maina Kageni has weighed in on the ongoing degree saga surrounding most of the politicians eying various seats in the August 9, General Election.
Some candidates have found themselves in the eye of a storm following questions about their academic qualifications.
Safina presidential hopeful Jimmy Wanjigi and former comedian Walter Mon’gare AKA Nyambane were, for instance, locked out of the presidential race due to a lack of a degree certificate from a recognised institution.
Speaking during the Morning Conversation on Classic 105, on Tuesday, June 24, Maina left his listeners confused after revealing that he dropped out of school and opted to be a truck driver whule in the United Kingdom.
For this reason, the renowned presenter said that he would never attempt to vie for the gubernatorial seat in an apparent reference to Johnson Sakaja who has found himself in hot soup after going for the seat yet he doesn’t have a degree certificate.
“I have no degree so I cannot look for that job. (Governor). You cannot go and bring a degree form just anywhere and present it. You cannot buy papers you will be found out at some point,” he said.
Sakaja is said to have enrolled at Nairobi University in 2003 and dropped off in 2007 to join politics, all along going to interviews claiming to have graduated from Nairobi University.
At one point he even said in an interview that he has never studied outside Kenya, meaning all his academic papers are from Kenya.
It was however shocking to many when he presented a degree certificate from a Ugandan university while seeking clearance to vie for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.
The Constitution of Kenya 2010 requires that all those seeking to vie for the presidency and the gubernatorial seats must be degree holders from a recognized University in Kenya.
Besides Johnson Sakaja, Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala is also among politicians at the center of the degree requirement saga.
Both of them are eying the seats on a United Democratic Alliance, a party heavily linked with 2022 presidential front runner William Ruto.
