Former Garissa Governor Nathif Jama speaking to the press at the Garissa high court. He has gone to court over 'forged certificates'. [Photo/the-star.co.ke]
Former Garissa Governor Nathif Jama has moved to court seeking to stop his arrest and prosecution over forged degree certificate.
Mr. Jama filed the application after a man, Mr. Mohamed Ibrahim on September petitioned the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate the authenticity of Jama’s bachelor’s degree.
Mr. Jama on Thursday said on October 13, he appeared before a senior superintendent of police to answer to questions regarding a complaint of the alleged forged Bachelor of Commerce degree certificate from the University of Karachi, Pakistan.
Mr. Ibrahim Githinji Mwangi and Associates Advocates in their letter to the DCI claimed that Mr. Jama was born on January 1, 1969, and he graduated in 1984 meaning that the former governor graduated at the age of 15 from the university.
Mr. Jama, however, told the court that he was born on June 5, 1959, and not January 1, 1969, claiming that he was issued with an identification card which had an error on the birth date but has since been corrected.
He said that the Commission for University Education twice wrote to him, first to confirm that the said institution is recognized, and then later alleged to have erroneously given that acknowledgment.
The former governor who wants the court to issue an order stopping his prosecution until he produces his final academic transcripts from the said institution added that he also possesses a Master of Arts degree from the University of Gloucestershire in the UK.
In the case, Mr Jama through his lawyers is suing the Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet and the Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko over his degree certificate.