The police have come out to state that they did not arrest Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja as was earlier reported in the media. According to the police, Sakaja turned himself him. However, the police turned him away, arguing that he had not been summoned, the police said.
Reports had stated that Sakaja had been arrested by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Friday May 17, 2022, afternoon.
He was allegedly taken to the DCI headquarters along Kiambu Road for questioning. The supposed arrest had come hours after DCI Boss announced that the Senator would be arrested.
DCI: We want to arrest Sakaja, he is part of international criminal syndicate
DCI boss George Kinoti had alleged that Sakaja and officials of Team University in Uganda, where the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial race claims to have acquired a degree, are suspects in an international organised crime syndicate.
“We will not surrender our capital city to frauds. We will involve all international agencies in investigating and prosecuting anyone involved in academic fraud,” Kinoti was quoted by the media.
Kamotho Adrian, one of Sakaja’s lawyers, had said that the Senator was arrested by four DCI officers from his office at Riverside where he had just concluded a campaign meeting with the Kamba community.
Sakaja is in the eye of the storm over allegations that he forged his university degree in order to contest for the Nairobi gubernatorial election.
A report that appeared in the Daily Nation had further reported that “the dramatic escalation of a row over Mr Sakaja’s eligibility to vie for Nairobi governorship apparently followed the intervention of Ugandan Education minister, Janet Museveni, who reportedly sent government officials to seek evidence of Sakaja’s time at the institution.”
Apparently, the officials have demanded evidence of Sakaja’s admission letter, date of admission, proof of payment of tuition fees, and proof of coursework done.
Sakaja faces a three-year jail term if a court finds that he forged his academic degree certificate and transcripts.
“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,” the daily quoted Section 349 of the Penal Code.