Even as his “fake” degree scandal drew in Ugandan authorities, Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was facing arrest Thursday night after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) stated he was a suspect in an international criminal syndicate.
Mr Sakaja and executives of Team University in Uganda, where the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial contest claims to have earned a degree, are suspects in an international organized crime ring, according to DCI chairman George Kinoti.
The rapid escalation of a debate over Mr Sakaja’s eligibility to run for Nairobi governorship appears to have been precipitated by Ugandan Education Minister Janet Museveni’s intervention, who reportedly dispatched government officials to gather evidence of Mr Sakaja’s tenure at the university.
According to Nation, the officials demanded proof of Mr Sakaja’s admission letter, date of admission, proof of tuition fees paid, and proof of coursework completed.
If a judge concludes that Mr Sakaja falsified his academic degree certificate and transcripts, he faces a three-year prison sentence.
“Any person who forges any document or electronic record is guilty of an offence that is a felony unless otherwise stated, and he/she is liable to imprisonment of three years unless due to the circumstances of forgery or the nature of the thing forged some other punishment is provided,” says Section 349 of the Penal Code.
In a furious Facebook post on Wednesday, the embattled senator alluded to threats of arrest while defending his degree certificate.
