Kama Ndrama: Narc now queries Kethi’s Masters degree
The battle between the National Rainbow Coalition ( Narc) and the Makueni by-election Wiper nominee Kethi Kilonzo took a twist on Saturday with the party now requesting for information from a public university to challenge the lawyer’s Masters degree.
Narc, which successfully challenged the eligibility of Kethi to contest the Makueni by-election at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Dispute Resolution Tribunal now says that it is keen to demonstrate that Kethi “has a consistent trend of falsifying documents”.
They allege that her Masters degree was recalled by the University Council and are thus requesting all correspondences between the University and the lawyer to put forth their case.
The demand for the information and spirited move byNarc to sink Kethi opens up a new battle between the Jubilee and Cord coalitions at a national level but specifically the supremacy battle between Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu and former Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.
Though to Kenyans the battle is seen as part of the “unfinished business” between Cord and Jubilee, within the Ukambani nation the contest is seen as a Ngilu-Kalonzo affair, whose fight has continued even after the former Narc party leader’s appointment to Cabinet.
Though the Cabinet appointment has restricted Ngilu’s political activities, she has opted to use proxies and allies to wage the supremacy fight on her behalf.
The Makueni by-election has provided her the perfect platform to do battle with the former Vice President Kalonzo, albeit pulling the strings from a distance, lest she be accused of actively engaging in politics.
Ngilu’s political ally former MP Agnes Ndetei has been the face of Narc in the Makueni battle, where the party, a Jubilee member, appears keen to deny Cord the chance to win back the seat left vacant by Kethi’s father the late Mutula Kilonzo.
Ngilu and by extension Narc and Jubilee Coalition won the first round against Kalonzo and Cord after the IEBC tribunal revoked Kethi’s nomination to contest the by-election upholding a petition lodged that she was not a registered voter.
Stolen
Ndetei was instrumental in the proceedings against Kethi, where the electoral body further ordered investigations into how the Cord nominee had acquired a registration slip she was in possession of and which IEBC maintained was stolen.
Through their lawyers Alphonse Mutinda and Company Advocates, Narc, Ndetei and two others have written to the University of Nairobi’s School of Law seeking documents regarding the Masters degree, which they say was recalled by the institution after they found the same to have been irregularly awarded to Kethi.
“We would also wish to be provided with copies of all decisions, findings, internal memos and any other documents regarding the recall of Ms. Kilonzo’s Masters Degree,” states the letter from the lawyer.
The applicants defend their requests from the University, invoking Article 35(1)(b) of the Constitution, which gives every citizen “right to information held by another person and required for the exercise or protection of any right or fundamental freedom”.
The letter indicates that Narc and the three petitioners in the IEBC tribunal were keen to use the information in court where they have been enlisted as interested parties.
Kethi and her Wiper party are challenging the legality of the IEBC tribunal, which revoked the nomination that had been granted to her for the July 26 elections.
Efforts to get a comment from Kethi on the matter were futile as her phone went unanswered.
Kama Ndrama: Narc now queries Kethi’s Masters degree
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