Sakaja Arrested, Taken to DCI HQ For Grilling

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja has been arrested.

The gubernatorial candidate is apparently at the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road for grilling.

The arrest comes hours after he dared DCI George Kinoti to apprehend him.

Kamotho Adrian, one of Sakaja’s lawyers, told reporters that his client was arrested by four DCI officers at his Riverside office.

The lawmaker had just concluded a campaign meeting with the Kamba community.

Read: I Will Not Be Intimidated – Sakaja Tells Off DCI Boss Kinoti

“Yes, he has been arrested from Riverside and we are outside the gate after being denied access to accompany our client. They are taking the political adventure too far,” Kamotho told the Star.

The lawyer also indicated that the reason for the arrest was still not clear to them.

Sakaja had written to Kinoti prior to his arrest, asking clarification on his allegations tying him to a global crime network.

The legislator asked Kinoti to acknowledge or deny remarks made about him in the Daily Nation insinuating that he is a fraud.

Read Also: Sakaja Blames President Uhuru For Degree Drama

Through Mutuma Gichuru and Associate Advocates, the former TNA chairman said, “We note that this publication comes amid the numerous allegations against our client and the malicious spread and/ or distribution of propaganda against our client herein.”

Kinoti told the daily that the DCI will not hand over the capital city to fraudsters and that all foreign agencies will be involved in investigating and prosecuting anyone involved in academic fraud.

“We will not surrender our capital city to frauds. We will involve all international agencies in investigating and prosecuting anyone involved in academic fraud,” Mr Kinoti told the Nation.

Kinoti claimed that Sakaja and officials from Team University in Uganda, where the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial election claims to have earned a degree, are suspected of being part of an international organized crime ring.

Read Also: Sakaja Blames President Uhuru For Degree Drama

If it is found that Sakaja falsified his academic certificate and transcripts, he will face a three-year prison sentence.

“Any person who forges any document or electronic record is guilty of an offence which unless otherwise stated, is a felony and he/she is liable unless owing to the circumstances of forgery or the nature of the thing forged some other punishment is provided, to imprisonment of three years,” says Section 349 of the Penal Code.

The senator has defended his degree, which has been called into doubt by a petitioner who wants the electoral commission’s dispute resolution committee to rescind his governorship clearance.

One of the qualifications for obtaining approval to run for the top county seat is a university degree from an approved institution.

Read Also: Sakaja’s Gubernatorial Bid in Limbo As CUE Revokes Team University Degree

On Wednesday, the lawmaker was granted a brief respite when the High Court overturned a decision by the Commission for University Education (CUE) to revoke his degree’s recognition.

The case took a new turn on Thursday when a voter questioned the validity of the High Court decision deferring the revocation of his degree certificate.

The voter, Mr Dennis Gakuu, through his lawyer, Ms Njoki Mboce, claimed that the court orders were questionable because they were issued by a judge who is away on official duties.

Ms Mboce requested proof from the High Court deputy registrar, Judicial Review Division, Nairobi, that the judge, Justice Jirus Ngaah, indeed heard Sakaja’s case.

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She also requested confirmation from the judge that interim orders were imposed against the CUE’s decision to cancel Sakaja’s degree diploma from Team University in Kampala, Uganda.

Before Justice Ngaah’s ruling, Ms Mboce stated, there was a public notice stating that the judge would not be available between June 15 and 18.

The orders were issued by the judge at 9.03pm on June 15.